Are They Really a Casual Employee?

Hello and welcome to Episode 283 of the People Powered Business Podcast.

I have a bit of a theme going at the moment which I’m calling ‘Compliance Quarter’ and today we’re taking a look at the recent changes to casual employment.

We discuss what changed and when, the new definition of a casual that was inserted into the Fair Work Act last year, an update to Casual Conversion pathways and why the onus is on you as the employer to get it right.

In August 2024 a new definition of what constitutes a casual was inserted into the FWA (so it’s law). From this point of time onwards, employers had a legal obligation to ensure that if they engaged someone as a casual employee, they had to meet this definition.

The casual definition requires that an employment relationship must:

1. Have no firm advance commitment to continuing and indefinite work (like a guaranteed weekly roster); and

2. Entitle the worker to casual loading or a specific casual rate under a modern award, enterprise agreement, or contract.

So even if the contract says casual, the actual work arrangement determines status.

In addition, we have seen changes to the casual conversion pathway and the provision of the Casual Employment Information Statement (CEIS).

If you’d like to connect with other businesses who are also juggling the challenges of teams, I’d love you to join us inside our free Facebook Group, The People Powered Community, so I can learn more about what’s working for you and any challenges you might be having.

Join Here. https://www.facebook.com/groups/hrsupportaustralia

Mentioned in this episode:

The Right to Disconnect Webinar

Are you ready for the new Right to Disconnect laws coming in on the 26th of August? If you’ve got full-time, part-time, or even casual employees, these changes will affect how and when you can contact your team after hours — and what happens if they don’t respond. I’m running a free live webinar on Tuesday the 19th of August to explain exactly what’s changing, who’s affected, and the steps to take now so you stay compliant with confidence. Save your free seat at peoplepoweredbusiness.com.au/disconnect