“Abusive” zero-hours contracts have reduced even working households to reliance on foodbanks and legal loan sharks, case workers revealed yesterday. 

Citizens Advice Scotland cried shame on bosses “frankly misusing” the legal loophole as its internal research yielded stories of workers paid so scarcely that they faced bankruptcy and even prosecution for unpaid bills.

The example of a man who earned just £150 in a month after being given just three days’ work is included the charity’s “Working on The Edge” report.