S11E07: Zero Hour Contracts

We’re joined by Tom Hopkins and Louise McAward-White from Fair Museum Jobs as we grab the imaginary tin opener and get into one of our favourite cans of worms: zero hour contracts! We unpick what they are, how they’re used in the heritage sector, why they’re problematic, and how we can do better. 00:01:33 What is exactly is a zero hours contract? 00:11:00 Examples of when they’re used 00:16:27 Which precarity is easier to manage? 00:18:48 The toll of constant job hopping on people 00:26:11 Conservation examples of ‘casual’ contracts 00:37:31 The advert that sparked this whole episode 00:50:25 Join your union! 00:55:47 How we can influence things for the better 00:57:21 Feedback from Icon and what professional bodies can do 01:06:03 Kloe’s fury 00:00:00 Patreon shout-out Show Notes: - Fair Museum Jobs: https://fairmuseumjobs.org/ - Go follow Fair Museum Jobs on Twitter: https://twitter.com/fair_jobs - UK government guidance on zero hours contracts: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/zero-hours-contracts-guidance-for-employers/zero-hours-contracts-guidance-for-employers and https://www.gov.uk/contract-types-and-employer-responsibilities/zero-hour-contracts - Real Living Wage: https://www.livingwage.org.uk/what-real-living-wage - Original V&A advert: https://app.vacancy-filler.co.uk/salescrm/Careers/CareersPage.aspx?e=LMo8nnTwYNYfjktgP-fk0v6HGHzjT7BnKoEpbcWUTJ9HNxQKjRUu0bwwoQNJy93jy5HLY4Ds_WQ&iframe=false&HideCareersLink=true - PDF copy of V&A advert: https://thecword.show/podcast/ConservationZeroHourWorkerPoolAdvert.pdf - Museum Freelance report: https://fairmuseumjobs.org/resources/ - Icon strategy: https://www.icon.org.uk/resource/icon-strategy.html - Icon Salaries Survey 2022: https://www.icon.org.uk/resource/conservation-salaries-survey-2022.html Support us on Patreon! http://www.patreon.com/thecword Hosted by Jenny Mathiasson, Kloe Rumsey, Tom Hopkins and Louise McAward-White. Intro and outro music by DDmyzik, used under a Creative Commons Attribution license. Made available under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International license. A Wooden Dice production, 2022.