BICS weighted Scotland estimates: data to wave 127

Employment Contract

In the period 17 February to 2 March 2025 (Wave 127) businesses that had not permanently stopped trading were asked whether they employed anyone on any of the following types of contract:

• agency contract
• casual contract
• fixed term contract
• minimum hours contract
• seasonal contract
• variable hours contract
• zero hours contract

More than half of businesses (60.5%) used at least one of these types of contracts. Large businesses (250 or more employees) were more likely to employ people on these types of contracts than small to medium-sized businesses (10 to 249 employees). An estimated 77.5% of large businesses used at least one of these types of contracts, compared to an estimated 58.7% of small to medium-sized businesses. The Accommodation & Food Services sector was the most likely to employ people on these types of contracts, with an estimated 93.5% of businesses in the sector using at least one of them.

Fixed term contracts (24.3% of businesses) were the most common type of contract used. This varied by sector, however. For example, in the Accommodation & Food Services sector variable hours contracts were the most common type (used by an estimated 43.2% of businesses in the sector).

Data on employment contract can be found in the ‘EmploymentContract’ table in the BICS weighted Scotland estimates: data to wave 127- tables – time series Excel workbook in the ‘Supporting documents’ section.