有這樣一種雇傭方式，老板有任務(wù)給你時(shí)，你才開(kāi)工，需隨叫隨到，工作多少就拿多少報(bào)酬，沒(méi)有工作任務(wù)的時(shí)候就沒(méi)有工資，自然也沒(méi)有所謂的病假和年假。這種雇傭方式就叫zero hours contract（零時(shí)工合同）。

The concept of a zero hours contract (also sometimes zero hour contract) is effectively a situation which allows employers to hire staff but give them no guarantee of work. Such contracts mean that employees only work as and when required, so that they are effectively 'on call' to work at short notice, and only receive pay for the hours they work. Some zero hours contracts make it compulsory for workers to accept the working hours they're offered, and others allow the employee to decide, but most contracts of this type don't offer sick or holiday pay, and deny rights such as redundancy payments and pensions.

Zero hours contract（有時(shí)也寫(xiě)作zero hour contract）指雇主雇傭員工卻不保證給其安排工作的合同情形，我們稱之為“零時(shí)工合同”。簽訂這種合同就意味著，員工只在有工作要求時(shí)干活，需隨叫隨到，做多少工作拿多少報(bào)酬。有些“零時(shí)工合同”要求員工必須接受雇主提出的工作時(shí)間要求，有些會(huì)讓員工考慮后做決定；不過(guò)，大部分“零時(shí)工合同”都不包括帶薪病假或休假，也沒(méi)有裁員津貼或養(yǎng)老金。

Predictably, the use of such contracts is controversial, not least because they give no guarantee of work, yet often deny the opportunity to seek employment elsewhere – some zero hours contracts oblige workers to seek permission before they can take on other jobs. The contracts have been criticized for not offering a basic level of financial security, many workers not being given enough hours and not having the same employment rights as those on traditional contracts. With no guaranteed income, employees on zero hours contracts sometimes find it difficult to get mortgages and other forms of credit. (Source: macmillandictionary.com)

可以預(yù)見(jiàn)的是，使用這一類合同頗具爭(zhēng)議性，主要的原因是這類合同無(wú)法保證隨時(shí)有工作，而且還阻止員工尋求其他的就業(yè)機(jī)會(huì)——有些“零時(shí)工合同”要求員工在接洽其他工作任務(wù)前需獲得現(xiàn)任雇主的許可。因無(wú)法提供基本的財(cái)務(wù)保障、很多員工沒(méi)有獲得足夠的工時(shí)，以及不能享受與傳統(tǒng)雇員同等職業(yè)權(quán)利等問(wèn)題，“零時(shí)工合同”一直飽受詬病。靠“零時(shí)工合同”工作的員工也因?yàn)闆](méi)有收入保障而很難獲得按揭貸款及其它形式的信用服務(wù)。

相關(guān)閱讀

職場(chǎng)的“蜂王綜合征”

職場(chǎng)新潮流“站立辦公”

辦公室的“軟面行李箱”

新潮流：咖啡辦公室

（中國(guó)日?qǐng)?bào)網(wǎng)英語(yǔ)點(diǎn)津 Helen）

點(diǎn)擊查看更多英語(yǔ)習(xí)語(yǔ)和新詞