On the 27 March 2021 the Fair Work Act 2009 was amended to include a new statutory definition of ‘casual employee’ – please refer to our previous newsletter Changes to Casual Employment if you missed this communication.

Non-Small Business Employers

As per the amendments that were handed down from the 27 March 2021, all new employees since that date should have been provided with a copy of the new Casual Employment Information Statement (CEIS). If you are a Small Business Employer, all of your existing casual employees should also have been provided with this statement on or as close as possible to that date.

From the 27 September 2021, all existing casual employees for Non-Small Business Employers must also be provided with a copy of the CEIS.

From this date, employers must also assess all existing casual employees for eligibility to be converted to a permanent position (as per the criteria listed in the following paragraph) and within 21 days of this assessment, the employer must provide eligible employees with one of the following:

• A Casual Conversion Offer in writing to convert to permanent employment
• Written notice that no offer for casual conversation is to be made based on ‘reasonable grounds’; or
• Confirmation in writing that a casual employee engaged for 12 months is not eligible for a casual conversion offer because the employee has not worked a regular pattern of hours on an ongoing basis during at least the last 6 months.

Casual employee eligibility is based on whether the employee has:

• Worked for the employer for a period of 12 months; and
• During the last 6 months of employment, the employee worked a regular pattern of hours on an ongoing basis; and
• The employee could easily convert to part-time or full-time employment without ‘significant adjustment’ to their schedule.

Reasonable grounds for not making an offer may be sought which could include:

• The employee’s position will not exist within the next 12 months;
• The employee’s hours will significantly reduce; or
• Days and times of work will significantly change and cannot be accommodated within the employee’s available days or times of work.

Small Business Employers

Whilst Small Business Employers are not proactively required to offer eligible employees permanent employment, an eligible employee can request to convert to a permanent employee after they have worked for a period of 12 months (this became possible from the 27 March 2021). An employer has 21 days to provide a written response to the employee advising if the employees request has been approved or denied, however if it is denied, the employer must explain the reasons why the request has been denied and these must fall within the parameters of reasonable grounds.

If you have any questions, speak to Fair Work, or Contact us, so we can help you find the information you may need.

Disclaimer: The information in this article is general and as we are not HR specialists, it should be used as a guide only. We recommend you seek professional advice for your particular circumstances before applying any of this information.