Right to Request A Casual Conversion
From 1 October 2018 the right for casual workers to request conversion to full-time or part-time employment, under certain criteria and restrictions, now exists in most modern Australian workplace Awards.
Casual Conversion Clauses
Casual conversion clauses are not new. They have existed in some Awards for years and are frequently included in enterprise agreements.
Casual workers who have the right to request permanent employment under the Award provisions, are generally required to have worked a regular and systematic pattern of hours and shifts on an ongoing basis during the prior 6-12 month period.
Under the Award provisions, casual workers are not obliged to convert to permanent employment, nor is conversion to permanent employment an automatic process.
Casual workers covered by Awards that include the relevant provisions are entitled to “request” to be converted to permanent employment. Employers must not unreasonably refuse such requests.
Employers may only refuse such a request on “reasonable grounds” which may include but are not limited to circumstances where:
- • The casual worker is not covered by relevant Award provisions.
- • It is known or it is reasonably foreseeable that there is no expectation of ongoing work;
- • The casual workers hours are expected to change or be significantly reduced;
- • It would require significant adjustment to the casual worker’s existing hours or days of work;
- • The casual worker has not meet the Award criteria.
Definition of Casual Employment
Generally, an employee is a casual worker when they have no guaranteed employment. They usually work irregular hours and days or they work to a roster that could change each week and they can refuse or swap shifts.
Casual workers don’t receive paid leave entitlements and it is usually clear on their payslip or employment agreement that they are receiving the relevant casual Award loading, in addition to their standard hourly rate of pay.
In some instances long term casual workers can be considered to be permanent workers for the purposes of leave and termination of employment, even if they choose to remain as casual workers.
What Employers Should Do
With regards to the recent Award amendments, employers will have until 1 January 2019 to provide their existing casual workers with a copy of the new Award provisions. For casuals workers engaged after this period, the employer must ensure that all casuals, whether regular or not, receive a copy of the relevant Award provisions within the first 6-12 months of their first engagement.
How to respond to an Employee’s Request
Casual workers can change to permanent employment at any time if the employer and the casual worker both agree to it.
When a request is made employers should ensure that:
- • The casual worker’s request is in writing.
- • After consultation, any refusal and the reasons for doing so should be conveyed in writing to the casual worker within 21 days of the request being made.
- • If the request is approved, the casual worker should be issued with a new employment agreement and their wages and conditions adjusted accordingly.
If you need some extra support managing your employees or your employer obligations don’t hesitate to contact us at Human Resource Services on (07) 5530 1571.
