Shift withdrawal after workplace complaint

This is a really important question and the answer depends on exactly what you complained about, but in many situations the short answer is: no, they should not do that, and if they do, you may have legal protection.

Legal position:

Even on a zero-hours contract, you have legal rights that protect you from being penalised for raising legitimate complaints. The key protections are as follows.

1. Victimisation under the Equality Act 2010. If your complaint related to discrimination, harassment, or any other matter covered by the Equality Act (for example, a complaint about sex discrimination, race discrimination, disability discrimination, or sexual harassment), then any less favourable treatment because you made that complaint is unlawful victimisation. This includes a decision to stop offering you shifts. You do not need any minimum length of service to bring this claim, and it can be brought in the employment tribunal.

2. Detriment for whistleblowing. If your complaint amounted to a protected disclosure under the Employment Rights Act 1996 (commonly called whistleblowing), for example reporting a health and safety risk, a criminal offence, or a breach of a legal obligation, then subjecting you to a detriment because of that disclosure is unlawful. Stopping shifts would almost certainly count as a detriment. Again, no minimum service is required.

3. Detriment for asserting a statutory right. Under section 44 and sections 100 and 104 of the Employment Rights Act 1996, if you complained about something like not receiving the national minimum wage, not getting holiday pay, or not receiving written terms, you are protected from suffering a detriment for asserting that statutory right. Withholding shifts in response would be actionable.

4. Unfair dismissal. If the withdrawal of shifts is so complete that it effectively ends your employment, this could amount to a dismissal. If you have two years' continuous service, you could claim ordinary unfair dismissal. Even without two years' service, a dismissal connected to whistleblowing, asserting a statutory right, or a protected characteristic is automatically unfair and has no qualifying period.

5. The Worker Protection (Amendment of Equality Act 2010) Act 2023. Since October 2024, employers have a positive duty to take reasonable steps to prevent sexual harassment of workers. If your complaint related to sexual harassment and shifts were then withdrawn, this strengthens your position further as the employer would be failing in that duty as well as victimising you.

The practical difficulty with zero-hours contracts:

The challenge with zero-hours arrangements is that the employer will often say there simply were no shifts available, or that work dried up, or that someone else was more suitable. They rarely admit the real reason. This means evidence is crucial. You need to be able to show a clear link in timing and circumstances between your complaint and the withdrawal of work.

Gathering and preserving evidence:

1. Keep copies of all messages, emails, texts, WhatsApp messages, rotas, and schedules showing your shift patterns before and after the complaint.
2. Note down the date and content of your complaint, who you made it to, and how.
3. Record how many shifts you were getting before and after the complaint.
4. If colleagues with similar roles are still getting shifts, note that down as well.
5. Save any written responses to your complaint.
6. If anyone said anything to you verbally suggesting the two things are connected, write it down as soon as possible with dates and the words used.

Practical next steps:

1. Put your concern in writing to the employer. A calm, factual letter or email saying that you have noticed a significant drop in shifts since you raised your complaint, that you are concerned the two are linked, and that you would like the position to be addressed. This creates a paper trail and gives them a chance to respond or correct the situation.

2. Use any internal grievance procedure. If the employer has a grievance policy, follow it. Even on a zero-hours contract, you are entitled to use it.

3. Contact ACAS. You can call the ACAS helpline for free advice. If things do not resolve informally, you would need to go through ACAS early conciliation before bringing any employment tribunal claim. The time limit for most tribunal claims is three months less one day from the act complained of, so do not delay.

4. Consider an employment tribunal claim. Depending on the nature of your original complaint, the claim could be for victimisation, detriment for whistleblowing, or detriment for asserting a statutory right. Tribunal claims are free to bring and you do not need a lawyer, though legal help can obviously improve your prospects.

What it depends on:

The strength of your position depends heavily on what your complaint was about. If you can tell me more about the nature of your complaint, I can give you a much more specific answer about which legal protections apply to your situation and how strong your position is likely to be.