A ban on zero hours contracts should form part of the Labour Party’s manifesto for the next general election in 2015, the Labour MP for Leigh has proposed.

Shadow health secretary and one-time party leadership candidate Andy Burnham made the suggestion while speaking to BBC TV’s Andrew Marr Show yesterday (28 April).

Under such contracts, workers are employed by a firm but not guaranteed any work, and asked to accept work as and when it becomes available.

According to Office for National Statistics figures released earlier this year, the number of people on zero hours contracts in the UK in Q4 2012 was 200,000, and consistently on the rise in recent years.

Burnham also suggested incentives to encourage firms to pay the living wage rather than just the minimum wage to workers, such as lower business rates or tax relief. The living wage currently stands at £8.55 in London and £7.45 elsewhere in the UK, compared to the National Minimum Wage of £6.19.

He said on the show that the party was “beginning now to set out our stall” for the 2015 campaign.