Changes to casual employment - handy tips and links for employers

Under the FW Act, there is a statutory definition of casual employment.

A worker will be considered a casual employee if they are offered employment without a ‘firm advance commitment to continuing and indefinite work‘; and they accept that offer on that basis.

Determination of whether a ‘firm advance commitment to continuing and indefinite work‘ has been made will be based on:

• whether the person can elect to accept or reject work offered
• whether the person will work ‘as required’
• whether employment is described as casual
• whether person will be entitled to a casual loading (25%)

Click here to find out more about types of employment  

 

Collate a comprehensive list of your casual employees – important information to collate includes Modern Award or Enterprise Agreement details (if relevant), start date, position details and responsibilities, work patterns/rosters, rates of pay, etc.

Important note – if your employees are employed under an Award or Agreement, ensure you also identify the relevant terms as they should be referenced for specific details.

 Under the changes to FW Act, some employer obligations are dependent on whether you are  a SMALL BUSINESS EMPLOYER  (have less than 15 employees) or not.

ARE YOU A SMALL BUSINESS EMPLOYER?

ALL employers must provide all NEW casual employees with a copy of the Casual Employment Information Statement (CEIS) before, or as soon as possible after, they start their new job.

The deadline for providing the CEIS to EXISTING casual employees (employed before 27 March 2021) is dependent on the size of business:

• Small business employers are required to provide EXISTING casual employees with a copy of the Casual Employment Information Statement (CEIS) as soon as possible.
• All businesses who are NOT small business employers are required to provide EXISTING casual employees with a copy of the Casual Employment Information Statement (CEIS) as soon as possible after 27 September 2021.

The CEIS can be provided:

• in person
• by mail
• by email
• by emailing a link to the page on the Fair Work website
• by emailing a link to a copy of the CEIS available on the employer’s intranet
• by fax
• by another method.

Click here to download the CEIS

Remember:  if your employees are employed under an Award or Agreement, ensure you identify the relevant terms as they should be referenced for specific details.

Casual conversion is the process by which a casual employee can be converted to being a permanent employee  through either an employer offering a permanent position, or an employee requesting a permanent position.

Casual employees are eligible to be considered for conversion to permanent if they meet the eligibility requirements:

• they have been employed for 12 months
• during the last 6 months, they have worked a regular and systematic pattern of hours without significant adjustment; and
• they could continue working those hours as a permanent employee without significant changes to their employment.

You do not have to extend this offer to your casual employees if you are a small business employer (have less than 15 employees). However, casual employees of small businesses can make a request for permanency if they meet the above requirements.

Any employer may decide to not make an offer, or refuse to accept a request, for a casual employee to convert to permanent on ‘reasonable grounds’. The reasonable grounds an employer relies on must be based on facts that are known or reasonably foreseeable.

It is very important to understand your obligations as an employer concerning casual conversion. It is also important to understand the rights for casual employees who choose to request or reject an offer to convert to permanency.

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The following key timelines apply:

Timing	Requirements
Now	ALL EMPLOYERS: Provide all NEW casual employees with a copy of the Casual Employment Information Statement (CEIS) before, or as soon as possible after, they start their new job.
Now	SMALL BUSINESS EMPLOYERS: Provide all EXISTING casual employees with a copy of the Casual Employment Information Statement (CEIS) as soon as possible.
27 September 2021	BUSINESSES WHO ARE NOT SMALL BUSINESS EMPLOYERS: Provide all EXISTING casual employees (employed before 27 March 2021) with a copy of the Casual Employment Information Statement (CEIS).
Ongoing: Before a casual employee’s 12-month anniversary	ALL EMPLOYERS: Assess if a casual employee may be eligible for conversion to permanent, and plan your actions/response.
Ongoing: At the time of a casual employee’s 12-month anniversary	BUSINESSES WHO ARE NOT SMALL BUSINESS EMPLOYERS: You must offer to convert an eligible casual employee to permanent unless there are reasonable business grounds not to do so. This offer needs to be made in writing. The employee needs to respond to this offer within 21 days, in writing. No response from the employee is regarded as rejection of the offer. If you are NOT making an offer to convert an eligible casual employee to permanent based on reasonable business grounds, the employee needs to be notified of this in writing. This notification needs to be made within 21 days of the employee’s 12-month anniversary.
Ongoing: At the time of, or any time after, a casual employee’s 12-month anniversary	ALL EMPLOYERS: If you are making an offer to convert a casual employee to permanent, this needs to be made in writing. The employee needs to respond to this offer within 21 days, in writing. No response from the employee is regarded as rejection of the offer. SMALL BUSINESS EMPLOYERS: If you receive a request from a casual employee to convert to permanent, this needs to be made in writing. You need to respond to this request within 21 days, in writing.