AUSTRALIA’S NEW DEFINITION OF CASUAL EMPLOYMENT: WHAT IT MEANS FOR WORKERS AND BUSINESSES

Parliament has recently passed changes to some of Australia’s workplace laws under the Closing Loopholes reforms. As of 26 August 2024, there are changes to casual employment, Right to Disconnect, independent contractor rules and the gig economy.

We have summarised how the changes to casual employment will impact new People 2U employees employed as causals from 26 August 2024 and onwards.

Casual Employment – What’s Changing?

An employee will meet the new definition of a ‘casual employee’ only where the employees’ employment relationship is characterised by:

  • an absence of a firm advance commitment to continuing and indefinite work and
  • an entitlement to a casual loading

Employees who start as a casual from 26 August 2024 and onwards, will stay casual until their employment status changes either through:

  • a conversion process or Fair Work Commission order, or
  • accepting an alternative employment offer and starting work on that basis.

How Does this Impact Individuals Employed Through Labour Hire Agencies?

If you work as a casual through a labour hire agency, these changes could make your job more secure. If you’ve worked regularly for six months, you can ask to become a permanent employee, which means you could get benefits like paid leave. You’ll need to ask for this change, and your employer must reply within 21 days. They can only say no if they have a good reason.

How Does this Impact on Businesses Using Labour Hire Agencies?

For businesses that rely on labour hire agencies to scale their workforce according to demand, the new definition poses challenges. The ability to offer truly casual employment is now more restricted, as the presence of a regular work pattern could entitle workers to seek permanent status. This may reduce the flexibility businesses previously enjoyed in managing workforce levels and could lead to increased operational costs if more workers transition to permanent roles.

How Does this Impact on Labour Hire Agencies like People 2U?

For labour hire agencies such as People 2U, these changes will make labour hire agencies review their current employment practices. Agencies will need to ensure that their casual contracts align with the new legal definition. Additionally:

After 6 months of employment, an employee can elect to notify their employer that they do not consider themselves to be a casual employee, and the employer will be required to consider requests to convert casual employees to full-time or part-time employment.

Employers will have 21 days to respond to an employee notification to convert and can only decline on limited grounds, including where the employee still meets the definition of a casual employee or where there are fair and reasonable operational grounds to do so.

That businesses must issue casual employees with a Casual Employment Information Statement at various points of the casual employee’s employment, including:

  • Commencement of employment
  • On the 6-month anniversary of the casual employee’s employment
  • On the 12-month anniversary of the casual employee’s employment; and
  • On each subsequent 12 month anniversary of the casual employee’s employment

For more information, visit the Fair Work Australia website.

People 2U help Melbourne’s construction and manufacturing businesses solve their workforce problems by quickly supplying quality labour hire options for production, ticketed, technical and trades-based roles.

Work with a committed and engaged Australian labour hire company to improve your workforce efficiency, call the team on 1300 728 222.