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A level business AQA - 25 marker help

Hi there,
wondering if anyone could give me some feedback/ a score out of 25 as im really struggling with structure of 25 markers for aqa.

Businesses using flexible employment contracts can be criticised for being unethical.
To what extent should businesses avoid the use of flexible employment contracts? (25)

On the one hand, from a strictly financial point of view, flexible contracts can be a useful tool for a business as it allows it to be far more efficient when it comes to managing the workload. If a business is allowing employees to work full time, there is always the potential of them not having enough work and therefore not being as productive as they could be, as there may not always be something for them to do. Utilising flexible contracts, ensures that a business is practically only paying what they need to and no more, which would theoretically bring about the greatest return, in terms of revenue. However, this is without considering the employee welfare, should a business introduce it as a strategy.
Flexible contracts often mean that employees aren't working full time, and that means that most of the time, they aren't taking home as much pay as they potentially could. Whilst in the short term it could mean that they're more productive whilst working, in the long run, it may leave an employee dissatisfied, especially if they have bills to pay or a family to look after. If they aren't making as much as they would like, it could decrease employee morale, which could have greater implications across the whole workforce, leading to poorer results, from a decrease in effort for example. Maslow's hierarchy of needs bases itself around the fact that, if basic physiological needs aren't met(such as pay), employee motivation decreases. And often, some of the basic physiological needs, are associated with an employees take home pay. On top of that, Elkington's triple bottom line argues that a businesses performance, shouldn't only be measured by its financial returns, but its effect on the people surrounding the business and its overall impact on the enviroment (planet). If an employer such as the business in question, is not providing suitable working hours for its employees, it can be argued that its not fullfilling its role, and possibly even having a negative impact on its workforce.
To conclude, there are plenty of examples where flexible contracts have been successful, one is Sports direct. A famous sports wear retailer in the UK and are known for their '0-hour contracts', where they're never gauranteed a set number of hours. In many ways, it can be beneficial to a business overall as it means there is often a reduction in labour costs and a business overall would have to carry out further analysis, to ensure whether or not it would have an overriding positive or negative effect. However the business must ensure that their employees morale is high and there are plenty of ways of doing this, such as rewarding employees with awards, such as 'employee of the month'. Although there a plenty of risks surrounding it, if carried out strategically, implementing flexible contracts can certainly save business vast amounts of money but the cost at which it does so, may not be favourable for a business.


Any feedback is appreciated

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