A REPORT has revealed that black women are twice as likely to be on zero-hours contracts (ZHCs) compared to white men, according to new figures.

The Trade Union Congress (TUC) is warning that insecure work is only “tightening the grip” of structural racism found in the labour market and deepening gender inequalities for millions of marginalised employees. 

Their analysis shows that there are a staggering 66,497 people from African and Caribbean backgrounds on zero-hours contracts (ZHCs), which means that 6.4% of black workers make a living through insecure work. 

However, black women were revealed to be worse off with up to 6.7% on ZHCs. 

Black and minority ethnic (BME) employees were found to be significantly overrepresented on ZHCs overall making up 4.3% of workers, while their white counterparts reached just 3% overall.

People from diverse backgrounds remain over-represented in insecure jobs which have faced disproportionately high Covid-19 mortality rates since the start of the pandemic and provide low pay as well as limited rights.

The TUC have described the damning figures as “structural racism in action” and “endemic” across society, calling for immediate change to tackle the disparity.

Frances O’Grady, General Secretary at the TUC, said: “Insecure work is endemic in modern Britain, with more than a million people still having to rely on zero-hours contracts to make ends meet. 

“And it is BME workers – particularly women – who are getting trapped in jobs with the worst pay and the worst conditions, struggling to pay the bills and put food on the table. 

“The time for excuses is over. Insecure work is tightening the grip of structural racism on the labour market and deepening gender inequalities.” 

According to the Office of National Statistics (ONS), over one million workers are now on zero-hours contracts –  a staggering rise of 40,000 compared to the previous year. 

The TUC reports on the impact of unstable work for many which hands the employer total control over their workers’ hours and earning power.  

Workers remain in the dark about how much they will earn each week, resulting in an income that is subject to the whims of managers.  

The deepening of gender and racial inequalities are unearthed further among BME women who are 4.7% more likely to be living on zero-hour contracts and are followed closely behind by 4% of BME men. 

White women also fare much worse at 3.6% in comparison to white men at just 2.4%

Overall, women have faced serious challenges as a result of the pandemic with working mums taking on the brunt of childcare when the schools across the UK were shut and sacrificed more hours and pay to do so. 

Women are also more likely to be in some of the key frontline jobs such as social care, which has faced a higher infection risk from Covid-19 during the pandemic.

The hardest hit sectors like retail and hospitality are also more likely to be dominated by women.

The TUC is now arguing that for millions of workers on zero-hour contracts this makes it difficult to plan their lives, look after their children and get to medical appointments. 

Employees may also be less likely to challenge unacceptable behaviour by bosses due to concerns about whether they will be penalised by not being allocated hours in future.  

Ms O’Grady added: “We need to end the scourge of insecure work once and for all. That’s how you start to tackle the structural racism that holds BME workers back. And that’s how you take meaningful action to fight for gender equality in the labour market. 

“The government must publish its long overdue employment bill and ban exploitative practices like zero-hours contracts. And it must place a duty on employers to measure and report on their ethnicity pay gap.” 

Following the government’s failure to ban ZHCs through the employment bill over two years ago, in an effort to confront the disadvantages in the labour market the TUC is now calling for a ban on zero-hours contracts, by giving workers a right to a contract which reflects their normal hours of work. 

They are also proposing for a  decent notice of shifts to be given and compensation for cancelled shifts, as well as the  introduction of ethnicity pay gap reporting to expose pay disparities BME workers face.

They hope the move will  pressurise employees to act and reduce the pay widening gap.