Labour’s ‘chaotic’ crackdown on zero-hour contracts could cost businesses nearly £3bn every year, though firms have warned the real cost could spiral even higher. The right to guaranteed hours could cost firms as much as £450m per year, while the right to reasonable notice of shifts and rules forcing bosses to pay for shifts cancelled at short-notice could cost up to £1.2bn and £1.3bn per year. The government’s more conservative “central” costing scenario has priced these new rules at £270m, £640m and £160m respectively, meaning the zero-hours crackdown would most likely cost firms £1.1bn each year.