We know it is really hard to keep up with all the Fair Work changes that regularly take place. To assist we try and focus on summarising key areas that will affect you.

A recent change that came into effect on the 27th March 2021 covered workplace rights and obligations for casual employees.

As many business owners rely on casual staff to run their businesses and service their customers we thought it worthwhile outlining these changes and the next steps for employers to consider.

What are the changes

There were several key areas that the amendments to the Fair Work Act 2009 introduced.

Introduction of a Casual Employment Information Statement
A definition of casual employment
A pathway for casual staff to move to permanent employment.

Who is a casual employee?

As outlined above there is now a statutory definition of what a casual employee is.

Under the new definition, a person is a casual employee if they accept a job offer from an employer knowing that there is no firm advance commitment to ongoing work with an agreed pattern of work.
(Fairwork website)

In other words, a person is considered casual if they accept a position where there is no firm commitment to future and ongoing work with an agreed pattern.

This may make us think about situations where business have been using casuals but have potentially offered them set shifts – for example, every Friday and Saturday night on an ongoing basis.

What is the Casual Employment Information Statement (CEIS)

The CEIS is a document that provides information to casual employees about the new changes and their new workplace rights.

Employers must provide the CEIS to all new staff before, or as soon as possible after, they start their job. All existing casual employees must also be given a copy.

A copy of the CEIS can be found on the Fair Work website.

Conversions to Permanent Employment, who it applies to and what is the criteria

One of the most important changes the Government has introduced is the new improved pathway for casual employees to be converted to permanent staff.

These new rules apply to business slightly differently depending on their size.

A small business employer (defined as having fewer than 15 employees) does not have to offer this conversion option. They must still provide staff with the CEIS.

A non-small business employer (those employing 15+ staff) will need to comply with the changes. There is a transitional period that has been put in place which runs from now until the 27th September 2021.

Simply, moving forward, a casual employee can request to become a permanent part-time or full-time employee if they meet a set of criteria. This request must be considered by the employer.

The criteria for converting from a casual to permanent are:

The employee has worked for their employer for 12 months
The employee has worked a regular pattern of hours for a least the last 6 of those months
The employee can continue working those hours as a permanent employee without significant changes to the business.

When the employer is considering these changes they may find they have reasonable grounds for not accepting requests. The reasonable grounds that could be considered relate to:

Where a conversion would require a significant adjustment to the employee’s hours of work in order to be employed permanently
Where the position will cease to exist in the 12 months after the conversion right arises
Where the hours the employee works will significantly reduce in the 12 months after the conversion right arises, or
If there will be significant changes in either the days or times on which the employees hours of work are required to be performed in the 12 months after the conversion right arises.

If the above grounds are used as a basis to not convert employment, written notice must be provided.

How will this affect how much staff are paid

This is a common question.

Remember the most important thing is to ensure that any conversion provides the minimum entitlements set out in the Fair Work Act or relevant modern award.

It is likely that the new minimum wage to be offered will be lower than what the employee was currently receiving. This may be due to the removal of the casual loading. However, it is important to note that once the staff member becomes permanent they will then be entitled to paid annual leave, personal/carer’s leave, compassionate leave, payment for absences on public holidays, payment in lieu of notice of termination and redundancy pay if required.

As an employer, what should I do now…

There are three things that employers need to do now to comply with the new changes:

Provide your casual employees with the Casual Employment Information Statement
Update your employment offers to casual employees to match the new definition of casual employee.
Set up a process to manage potential conversions from casual to permanent part-time or full-time work.

How can Trade Guardian help?

As always, we are here to help!

Reach out and have a chat with us and we can help you understand the changes, develop strategies to adapt and help you determine which casual employees may be entitled be consideration of being converted to permanent part-time or full-time employment.

If you or someone you know needs any assistance to implement these changes please Contact Us.