It’s worth checking out the changes to casual employment terms adduced by Fair Work that are now in force thanks to amendments to the Fair Work Act a few weeks ago. This section may be of interest:
Becoming a permanent employee
The Amendment Act adds a new entitlement to the National Employment Standards (NES) giving casual employees a pathway to become a full-time or part-time (permanent) employee. This is also known as ‘casual conversion’.An employer (other than a small business employer) has to offer their casual employee to convert to full-time or part-time (permanent) when the employee:
- has worked for their employer for 12 months
- has worked a regular pattern of hours for at least the last 6 of those months on an ongoing basis
- could continue working those hours as a permanent employee without significant changes.
Some exceptions apply, including:
- small business employers>/li>
- if an employer has ‘reasonable grounds’ not to make an offer to a casual employee for casual conversion.
It is important to read the changes in the context of your specific situation. If you have less than 15 employees, some changes do not apply to you.