Demanding action from both the UK and Scottish governments to stamp out the practice, Ms Foyer said: “Scotland continues to bear the shameful mark as the zero-hours nation of the UK as we witness an eye-watering and utterly inexcusable 30 per cent increase in workers being subjected to one over the last quarter.

“There is a clear power imbalance within the workplace.

“Zero-hours contracts do little more than strip workers of their agency and hand employers, especially rogue, unscrupulous bosses, the power to determine whether a worker can pay their rent or foot their bills come the end of the month.

“The Employment Rights Bill from the UK government is a start but all loopholes on all zero-hours contracts must be closed and an outright ban put in place. Otherwise, it will be letting Scotland’s workers down.

“The case for employment law to be devolved to the Scottish Parliament still remains unanswerable as we seek to enhance and improve our working rights, banning zero-hours contracts entirely and seeking to boost pay, terms and conditions for all workers in Scotland.

“We also need the Bank of England to act far more decisively. 

“Cutting interest rates more swiftly remains key if we are to tackle economic inactivity, which remains stubbornly high and sustainably grow our economy for workers and business alike.”

The Treasury was contacted for comment.