S11E07: Zero Hour Contracts - a podcast by The C Word

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.

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