"I'm in business thanks to a zero hours contract- they're not all bad" says founder of content marketing agency Benchmark Content

A business owner from East London has said that zero hours contracts aren't all bad, after his experience of flexible working allowed him to start his agency.

Ben Caine, founder of content marketing agency Benchmark Content, was working for well-known pub brand J D Wetherspoon when he started his business based around his copy and content writing experience as a journalist.

Ben said: "Working on a zero hours contract gave me flexibility so I was able to invest time into developing my skills.

"I know zero hours contracts have a bad reputation and aren't for everyone, but for some they're a great concept so banning them would be harmful to the economy and potential small business owners like me."

"I was able to reduce my hours when needed so I could train to be a journalist and when I wanted to start my business I reduced my hours again too. I was lucky to have a manager and company that allowed me to be flexible, but without my zero hours contract I wouldn't have had the time to start my business and find my first few clients."

New data released today shows results from a survey of businesses carried out in May, which indicated that there were 1.4 million contracts that did not guarantee a minimum number of hours, where work had actually been carried out under those contracts. The equivalent figures for May 2016 were 1.7 million.

ENDS

Notes to editors:

To find out more about today's zero hours contract data visit https://www.ons.gov.uk/employmentandlabourmarket/peopleinwork/earningsandworkinghours/articles/contractsthatdonotguaranteeaminimumnumberofhours/september2017


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About Benchmark Content

Benchmark Content is a content marketing agency based in North East London. Originally founded in 2016 by former journalist Ben Caine, we help businesses grow by providing great content. Services we offer include blogs, website content, sales letters, social media marketing and copy, email marketing and design work, as well as keyword research and other online marketing services.


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