The Labour leader has attacked chain Sports Direct for being "a terrible place to work" because of its high use of zero-hours contracts.
At a Labour Party conference in Coventry, Ed Miliband said: "Zero-hours contracts are the way Sports Direct employs the vast majority of its workforce - 17,000 out of its 20,000 workers."
He added: "These Victorian practices, the epidemic of zero-hours contracts that we see at Sports Direct, have no place in the 21st Century."
He said: "If you work regular hours, you will have the legal right to regular contracts."
A spokeswoman for Business Secretary Vince Cable said zero-hours contracts are currently being assessed under an employment review which was commissioned in February.
She added: "Our priority, now the recovery is entrenched, is to make sure it is a recovery for all."
"The report will look at whether and how we can give people on zero-hours contracts more security and their rights to go on to a permanent contract."
The recommendations will be published before next year's General Election.
The Small Business Bill, which is about to be assessed by Parliament, is set to ban employers rights to "exclusivity" in zero-hours contracts - which was an issue identified following a consultation last year.
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