North Yorkshire recruitment director calls for balanced approach to Government flexible working reforms
A North Yorkshire based recruitment director is calling on the Government to ensure proposed reforms to zero-hours and agency work protect workers without unintentionally reducing access to flexible employment.
Kelly Dunn, Founder and Director of KD Recruitment, has written to MPs and the Minister for the Future of Work to raise concerns about the potential impact of proposed changes covering guaranteed hours, reasonable notice of shifts and compensation when shifts are cancelled or changed at short notice.
Kelly supports the principle of improving protection for workers experiencing unwanted insecurity but believes the Government must distinguish between exploitative working practices and flexibility that people actively choose. “Workers absolutely deserve fairness, transparency and protection from unreasonable uncertainty,” said Kelly. “But temporary and agency work is not automatically insecure or unwanted. For many people, flexibility is exactly what they are looking for. It can allow someone to work around caring responsibilities, study, family commitments or a return to employment, while giving businesses the ability to respond to genuine changes in demand.
“My concern is that if the regulations are designed too rigidly, we could end up solving one problem while creating another — employers becoming more reluctant to offer temporary opportunities and workers losing access to flexible work they actually value.”
The Government recently published additional evidence to support its consultation on reforms to zero-hours and similar contracts. That evidence highlights both the challenges experienced by people whose working hours are unpredictable and the value many workers place on flexible arrangements.
The research found that 63% of agency workers surveyed agreed or strongly agreed that agency work suited them and their lifestyle and its own assessments also acknowledge that the reforms could potentially reduce demand for agency workers, create additional staffing liabilities for employment businesses and lead to changes in the way employers use temporary labour.
Kelly believes these potential unintended consequences need to be carefully considered before detailed regulations are finalised.
She is asking Government to consider whether temporary agency workers should be treated differently from traditional zero-hours employees and, if they remain within the scope of the reforms, whether measures such as a longer reference period could better reflect seasonal and genuinely temporary demand.
She is also calling for clarity over who would ultimately bear the cost when a client cancels a shift at short notice, particularly where the recruitment agency itself has had no control over the decision.
Kelly added: “The recruitment sector plays an important role in helping people enter work, return to employment, gain experience and find opportunities that fit their circumstances.” “I support stronger worker protection, but good regulation needs to recognise how the labour market actually works. This should not become a choice between worker protection and flexibility. We should be capable of delivering both.”
“The best outcome would protect people from unwanted insecurity while preserving legitimate, mutually beneficial flexible work for those who choose it.”
The Government consultation, Make Work Pay: Ending One-Sided Flexibility – Reforms of Zero-Hours and Similar Contracts, closes on 25 August 2026. KD Recruitment is encouraging employers, recruitment businesses and others affected by the proposals to review the consultation and make their views known before the deadline.
ENDS
Notes to editors
KD Recruitment is an independent recruitment business based in North and East Yorkshire, working with employers and candidates across the region. Kelly Dunn is the Founder and Director of KD Recruitment and works closely with business leaders across the region to advise on everything around recruitment, employment and labour-market issues.
The Government consultation covers proposals relating to guaranteed hours, reasonable notice of shifts and compensation for shifts that are cancelled, moved or curtailed at short notice.