Terms & Conditions
- About these terms
- Definitions
- Our role — we are not the employer
- Eligibility & verification
- Accounts
- Acceptable use
- Off-platform circumvention
- Worker terms
- Employer terms
- Payments, fees & escrow
- Cancellations & no-shows
- Reliability scores
- Tax & self-employment
- Suspension & termination
- Liability
- Intellectual property
- Disputes & governing law
- Changes & contact
1. About these terms
These Terms & Conditions govern your use of the Zero Hours platform, website and app (together, "the Platform"), operated by Zero Hours, a company registered in England & Wales under company number to be confirmed, registered office 30 Churchill Place, London, E14 5RE ("we", "us", "our").
By creating an account, submitting an interest form, or using the Platform, you agree to these terms. If you do not agree, do not use the Platform.
Different sections apply to different users. Sections 8, 11, 12 and 13 apply to Workers. Sections 9, 10 and 11 apply to Employers. All other sections apply to everyone.
2. Definitions
- Worker — an individual who uses the Platform to find and accept Shifts.
- Employer — a business or venue that uses the Platform to post and fill Shifts.
- Shift — a discrete unit of work posted by an Employer, with a stated date, time, location, role and rate of pay.
- Escrow — funds held by our payment processor after an Employer posts a Shift, pending release to the Worker or refund.
- Platform Fee — the fee we charge on each completed Shift, as set out in section 10.
3. Our role — we are not the employer
Where a Worker accepts a Shift, a direct contract for services arises between the Worker and the Employer. Zero Hours is not party to that contract. We do not supervise, direct or control the manner in which a Worker performs a Shift, and we do not guarantee that any Shift will be offered, accepted, or completed.
Nothing in these terms creates a contract of employment, a partnership, a joint venture, or an agency relationship between Zero Hours and any Worker or Employer.
Each Employer is responsible for meeting its own legal duties towards Workers engaged through the Platform, including duties relating to health and safety, working time, discrimination, and correct classification of the engagement.
4. Eligibility & verification
To use the Platform you must:
- be at least 18 years old (or the minimum lawful age for the role, where higher);
- have the legal right to work in the United Kingdom;
- provide accurate identity information and complete our identity and right-to-work verification;
- where you are a Worker, provide your National Insurance number so we can meet our reporting duties (see section 13);
- where you are an Employer, provide accurate company details, which we may verify against Companies House.
We may refuse, suspend or withdraw access where verification fails or where information provided is inaccurate. Verification is a condition of use, not a guarantee of any individual's suitability.
5. Accounts
You are responsible for keeping your login credentials secure and for all activity under your account. Accounts are personal and may not be shared, sold or transferred. Tell us immediately at privacy@zerohours.live if you believe your account has been compromised.
6. Acceptable use
You must not:
- provide false, misleading or fraudulent information, including about identity, right to work, or a Shift;
- discriminate against, harass, threaten or abuse any other user;
- use the Platform for any unlawful purpose, or to arrange work that is unlawful or unsafe;
- scrape, reverse-engineer, or interfere with the Platform or its security;
- create multiple accounts to evade suspension, ratings, or fees.
7. Off-platform circumvention
Circumvention undermines the protections the Platform provides to both sides — escrowed payment, verified identity, and a record of the engagement. If we reasonably believe circumvention has occurred, we may suspend or terminate the accounts involved, withhold or reverse payouts, and recover the fees that would have been payable.
This clause does not prevent a Worker and an Employer from later entering into a genuine, ongoing employment relationship outside the Platform, provided any Shift arranged through the Platform is settled through it.
8. Worker terms
8.1 Finding and accepting Shifts
Shifts are offered by Employers, not by us. You are free to apply for, accept or decline any Shift. Accepting a Shift creates a binding commitment to the Employer to attend and perform that Shift.
8.2 Check-in and check-out
You must check in at the start and check out at the end of each Shift using the Platform. We use location data at check-in and check-out to confirm attendance at the Shift location ("geofencing"). This data is used to verify attendance and release payment, and is handled as described in our Privacy Policy. Failing to check in or out may delay or prevent payment.
8.3 Payment
The rate for each Shift is shown before you accept it. After the Shift is confirmed as complete (see section 10), your payment is released, less any deductions stated at the point of acceptance. Payouts are made to the bank account you register, typically via Faster Payments.
9. Employer terms
9.1 Posting Shifts
You must describe each Shift accurately — role, duties, date, hours, location, rate, and any dress code or requirements. Materially inaccurate Shift listings may be removed, and the Worker may still be entitled to payment.
9.2 Your obligations to Workers
You are responsible for providing a safe place of work, complying with health and safety and working-time law, and treating Workers lawfully and without discrimination. You must not require a Worker to perform duties materially different from those advertised.
9.3 Confirmation
After a Shift ends you should confirm completion through the Platform. If you do not confirm or raise a dispute within 24 hours of the Shift ending, the Shift is treated as confirmed automatically and payment is released to the Worker.
10. Payments, fees & escrow
10.1 Escrow
When you post a Shift as an Employer, the full Shift cost (including the Platform Fee) is charged and held in escrow by our payment processor. Funds are released to the Worker after the Shift is confirmed complete, or refunded as set out below.
10.2 Fees
We charge a Platform Fee on each completed Shift. The fee is shown clearly before you post or accept a Shift. Fees are non-refundable once a Shift has been completed and confirmed.
10.3 Refund rules
| What happened | Outcome |
|---|---|
| No Worker applied and the Shift went unfilled | Full refund to the Employer, including the Platform Fee. |
| Workers applied, but the Employer accepted none, and the Shift lapsed | Flagged for review. Not automatically refunded — we may retain the Platform Fee where the Shift could reasonably have been filled. |
| A Worker was accepted and completed the Shift | Funds released to the Worker; Platform Fee retained. |
| A Worker was accepted but did not attend (no-show) | Full refund to the Employer. See section 11. |
| The Employer cancelled after accepting a Worker | See section 11 — a cancellation charge may apply. |
11. Cancellations & no-shows
11.1 Worker cancels
If you accept a Shift you are expected to work it. If you must cancel, do so through the Platform as early as possible. Cancelling shortly before a Shift starts, or failing to attend without notice (a "no-show"), will negatively affect your reliability score and may lead to suspension. You are not paid for a Shift you do not work.
11.2 Employer cancels
If you cancel a Shift after a Worker has accepted it, the Worker has already arranged their time around it. A cancellation charge may apply, and the Platform Fee may be retained. Cancelling repeatedly at short notice may affect your ability to post Shifts.
11.3 Disputes
Where the parties disagree about whether a Shift was worked, either side may raise a dispute within 24 hours of the Shift ending. We will review the available evidence — including check-in/check-out records — and make a reasonable determination. We act as an administrator of the escrow, not as an arbitrator of the underlying contract between Worker and Employer.
12. Reliability scores
We calculate a reliability score for Workers based on objective factors including completed Shifts, late cancellations, no-shows, and punctuality of check-in. Your score is visible to Employers and may affect which Shifts you can see or be accepted for.
13. Tax & self-employment
As a UK digital platform, we are required under the OECD/UK digital platform reporting rules (commonly called DAC7) to collect certain information about Workers — including your National Insurance number — and to report income earned through the Platform to HMRC annually. You must provide this information to continue receiving payments. See our Privacy Policy for how we handle and retain it.
Nothing in these terms is tax advice. If you are unsure of your tax position, seek independent advice.
14. Suspension & termination
You may close your account at any time. Closing your account does not cancel Shifts you have already accepted, nor does it remove records we are legally required to retain (see the Privacy Policy).
We may suspend or terminate your account, with notice where practicable, if you breach these terms, if verification fails, if we reasonably suspect fraud or circumvention, or if required by law. Where we suspend an account with funds in escrow, we will hold those funds until the position is resolved.
15. Liability
The Platform is provided on an "as is" and "as available" basis. We do not guarantee that Shifts will be available, that any Worker will be accepted, or that the Platform will be uninterrupted or error-free.
We are not liable for the acts or omissions of Workers or Employers, for the quality or safety of any work performed, or for any contract formed between them.
Nothing in these terms limits or excludes our liability for death or personal injury caused by our negligence, for fraud or fraudulent misrepresentation, or for any liability that cannot lawfully be limited. Subject to that, our total liability to you arising out of or in connection with the Platform is limited to the greater of (a) the total Platform Fees you paid us in the 12 months before the event giving rise to the claim, or (b) £100.
Where you use the Platform as a consumer, your statutory rights are unaffected.
16. Intellectual property
The Zero Hours name, logo, software, design and content are owned by us or our licensors and are protected by intellectual-property law. You may use the Platform for its intended purpose but may not copy, modify, distribute, or create derivative works from it without our written permission. You retain ownership of content you submit, and grant us a licence to use it as needed to operate the Platform.
17. Disputes & governing law
If you have a complaint, contact us first at privacy@zerohours.live — most issues are resolved quickly. Disputes about whether a Shift was worked are handled under section 11.3.
These terms and any dispute arising out of them are governed by the law of England and Wales, and the courts of England and Wales have exclusive jurisdiction. If you are a consumer resident elsewhere in the UK, you may bring proceedings in your local courts.
18. Changes & contact
We may update these terms as the Platform develops. Material changes will be notified to you, and the "last updated" date above will change. Continuing to use the Platform after a change means you accept the updated terms.
Zero Hours, 30 Churchill Place, London, E14 5RE. Contact: privacy@zerohours.live.