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Employment: Young People

Asked by Wendy MortonConservativeDepartment for Business, Innovation, Science and TradeTabled Answered 8 September 2026UIN 26043

The question

To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation, Science and Trade, what assessment his Department has made of the potential impact of the proposed right to guaranteed hours on the number of employment opportunities available to people aged 16 to 24.

Answered by Department for Business, Innovation, Science and Trade

The government has published a comprehensive assessment of the potential impacts of the right to guaranteed hours, which includes consideration of the potential impacts on employment.

Our analysis identifies young workers as a group more likely to benefit from the right to guaranteed hours. There is evidence that greater certainty over hours and income could make it easier for young people to return to the labour market. The reforms do not ban zero hours and similar contracts, and workers who value this flexibility will be able to remain on their existing arrangements by declining a guaranteed hours offer if they do not want one.

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