Contract workers’ rights are in the spotlight in the U.K. and some EU countries as governments seek to end exploitative practices. Critics have long argued that zero-hours contracts are exploitative, because they provide no income security for contractors. The government is now stepping in, but some fear that blanket bans could restrict a company’s flexibility and growth.

The UK Labour government took power in July promising an Employment Rights Bill as one of its first priorities. Key to its plans are a ban on what government ministers have called “exploitative” zero-hours contracts, new rights for employees from day one in the job, and measures to end “the scourges of ‘Fire and Rehire’ and ‘Fire and Replace’”–an issue which hit the headlines in September when Tesco lost a legal battle to fire and rehire some staff on lower pay.

“We’re turning the page on an economy riven with insecurity, ravaged by dire productivity, and blighted by low pay,” said U.K. Deputy Prime Minister Angela Rayner in a statement while discussing details of the Employment Rights Bill in October.