Casual Employee Conversion deadline is 27 September 2021
In our article in March this year, we provided information about recent changes to legislation relating to casuals.
The legislation introduced the requirement that all employers must issue all current and future casual employees with the Casual Employment Information Statement.
In addition, under the changes, employers with more than 15 employees are required to assess all casuals employed before 27 March 2021 to determine whether they are eligible to be offered conversion to permanent employment. This assessment needs to be done by 27 September 2021. This requirement does not apply to small business employers (with 15 employees or less).
In summary, unless there are reasonable business grounds not to make an offer, casuals must be offered casual conversion if they:
(a) have worked for the employer for 12 months; and
(b) have worked a regular pattern of hours for at least the last six of those months on an ongoing basis; and
(c) could continue working those hours as a permanent employee without significant adjustment.
Within 21 days of the assessment, employers are required to notify each casual employee of the outcome of the assessment, even if the employee is not eligible for conversion.
There is an ongoing obligation to assess each casual employee for eligibility to be converted to permanent employment on the anniversary of their employment each year.
Allan Hall HR can assist you with the assessment of your casual workforce, drafting the required communications to your casuals and implementing processes to ensure ongoing compliance with the legislation.
As there are penalties for non-compliance with the legislation, we encourage you to act now.
If you have any questions or require support, please do not hesitate to contact us directly at [email protected].