Contracts for Casual and Bank Staff in Hospitality: Getting It Right

Hospitality runs on flexible labour in a way that few other sectors do. A hotel needs skeleton staff on a Tuesday morning and double the headcount for a wedding reception on Saturday. A restaurant needs three covers a night in January and a full front-of-house team for a private dining event in December. The contracts that govern these arrangements are often informal, often copied from a template drafted years ago, and often wrong.

This guide covers the main types of casual and bank arrangements used in hospitality and what each one requires in terms of written documentation.

The main casual arrangements in hospitality

Bank staff. Workers held on a standing availability list, typically in larger operations such as hotels, contract catering venues and event spaces. Bank staff are contacted when shifts become available. They are under no obligation to accept and the employer is under no obligation to offer any minimum number of shifts. Each member of the bank should have a written casual worker agreement.

Zero-hours casual workers. Common across restaurants, pubs and cafes. The worker is contacted when shifts are available, usually via a rota or group messaging system. There is no guaranteed minimum number of hours. The worker can decline shifts. This arrangement sits within the scope of the exclusivity clause ban and the anticipated 2027 guaranteed-hours reform.

Event and function staff. Workers engaged specifically for private dining, weddings, conferences or seasonal events. Engagement may be for a single event or for a defined series of events. Where engagement is for a single event, the arrangement is closer to a fixed-term engagement than an ongoing zero-hours arrangement.

Seasonal hires. Workers engaged for a defined season: Christmas, summer, or a specific trading period. These workers typically have a fixed start and end date and are engaged as fixed-term employees or workers. A fixed-term contract must state the end date or the condition on which employment ends.

Students working during holidays. Students who work regular hours during university or school holidays but are absent otherwise. These workers often have an ongoing relationship with the employer but with predictable gaps. Their employment status over the gap periods, and whether their service is continuous, depends on whether there is a continuing mutual obligation during the absence.

What written terms each arrangement needs

For bank and zero-hours casual workers. The written statement must reflect the casual nature of the arrangement: no guaranteed hours, work offered as available, no obligation on either side to offer or accept. It must confirm that the worker is free to work for other employers. It must include the rate of pay, how pay is calculated for hours worked, holiday pay arrangements (holiday accrues at 12.07% of hours worked and can be paid as rolled-up holiday pay added to each payment), and the applicable notice arrangements where notice is relevant.

For event and function staff. Where engagement is for a specific event or series of events, the written terms should state the dates of the engagement clearly. If the worker will be paid a flat rate for the event, this should be stated alongside how the hourly equivalent is calculated for National Minimum Wage purposes. Holiday pay accrues even for short-term engagements.

For seasonal fixed-term staff. A fixed-term employment contract stating the start date, the end date or the condition bringing the contract to an end, the rate of pay, hours, holiday entitlement for the period, and what happens at the end of the fixed term. If the employment will end automatically, this must be confirmed. If there is any possibility of an extension, the process for agreeing one should be stated.

For student holiday workers with a returning arrangement. If the arrangement is intended to repeat each year, and both parties treat the employment as continuing across the gaps, consider whether a written framework agreement is appropriate, covering the returning arrangement and the terms that apply each time the worker comes back.

Employment status risk

The risk in casual arrangements is that the actual working relationship does not match the contract label. Employment status in the UK is determined by the reality of the arrangement, not by what the contract says.

The key indicators that suggest an employee relationship exists, even within a nominally casual arrangement, are:

• →The worker attends on a regular schedule that does not genuinely vary
• →The employer expects the worker to be available and the worker expects to receive shifts
• →The worker has been working for the same employer for an extended period on a consistent basis
• →The worker does not work for other employers and cannot readily do so
• →The employer controls how, when and where the work is carried out

If two or more of these are true of a worker described as casual, there is a risk that a tribunal would find an employment relationship exists. This has consequences for unfair dismissal rights, redundancy pay entitlement, and the right to written particulars.

The clearest practical indicator is mutual obligation across the gap periods between engagements. If the employer has no obligation to offer work and the worker has no obligation to accept, the absence of an overarching contract is defensible. If in practice the worker is always available and always offered shifts, the reality suggests something closer to employment.

The January 2026 changes and casual arrangements

The January 2026 extension of the exclusivity clause ban to all arrangements where no minimum hours are guaranteed applies directly to casual and bank staff arrangements. Any term in a casual worker agreement that prevents the worker from working elsewhere is unlawful from January 2026.

Review every casual worker agreement, bank staff agreement and zero-hours contract in use. Remove any term that:

• →Prevents the worker from taking shifts with another employer
• →Requires the worker to seek your permission before working elsewhere
• →Gives the employer priority claim on the worker's availability above other employers

Replace any such term with neutral availability language: the worker is invited to indicate their availability, the employer will offer shifts based on availability and business need, and the worker is free to accept or decline.

Related guides

• →Employment contracts and written particulars for hospitality employers: the complete guide
• →Zero-hours contracts in hospitality: the exclusivity clause ban explained
• →Written statement of employment particulars: what must be included
• →Guaranteed hours: what the 2027 reform means for hospitality rotas
• →Zero-hours contract rules UK 2026