Labour leader Ed Milliband will say that his party will ban zero hours contracts in a speech in Scotland later today.

Zero hour contracts allow businesses to hire staff and only pay them for the hours they actually work rather than a fixed salary and with no guarantee of work.

Speaking in Motherwell after a shadow cabinet meeting in Glasgow, Mr Miliband will say: "Zero-hour contracts have spread like an epidemic across our economy.

"The government's own figures say they have increased three-fold since 2010 and some estimates suggest there are one million people on these contracts across the UK including at least 90,000 here in Scotland."

He will say the contracts can offer "short-term flexibility for employers and employees" but that most employers don't use them because they are "incompatible with building a loyal, skilled and productive workforce".