Casual employment is a type of employment in which an employee’s working hours and employment status are liable to change at short notice. They work on a “casual basis”. This document allows you to offer casual employment and document the terms of such employment to ensure clarity as well as safeguard your business from any future disputes.
This Employment Agreement can sometimes be referred to as:
Part Time Employment is a type of employment where the hours are set and stipulated, but the hours worked are not on a full time basis. For an employee to meet the legal definition of ‘Part Time’, there needs to be ‘regular pattern of hours’ of work, or work performed on a ‘reasonably predictable basis’. Employees whose hours do not meet this definition can be considered casual employees. Conversely, if an employee works full time, they ordinarily work 38 hours per week on a continuing basis.
Although Part Time and Casual Employment may look similar in that they both work less hours than someone on a full time contract, they are very different. Part Time employees, similar to Full Time employees, have leave entitlements such as paid sick leave and annual leave. Casual employees have no such rights, and any leave taken is usually unpaid (although they tend to be paid a higher hourly rate). Casual employment can also be terminated by an employer or employee at any time without notice.
Amendments to the Fair Work Act in 2021 now mean that employees who are employed on a casual basis now have the right to request a Part Time contract after 12 months. An employer can only refuse if there are ‘reasonable business grounds’ to do so.
A casual employee may have regular hours or may only work when required to. Either way, casual employment involves little commitment from the employer or employee.
A casual employee tends to be paid a higher hourly rate through casual loading than a part time employee or full time employee.
However, unlike a more permanent employee, a casual employee will not be paid for :
According to the National Employment Standards (NES) outlined in the 2009 Fair Work Act, casual employees are entitled to the modern award rate of pay when it comes to their minimum wage.
In order to appropriately provide remuneration to employees, you, as the business, will need to meet the requirements and obligations set out in the Employment Agreement. As the employer you cannot rely on previous payment cycles to specify entitlements.
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