As part of the Labor government's monumental review of the Fair Work Act, changes are again coming to the definition of what is a casual. This is despite the previous Coalition government intervening to define casual employment and put the issue to rest.
As part of the Closing Loopholes Bill, the definition of casual will be reverted to its pre-2021 definition that came about as a result of the landmark court case Workpac v Rossato, in which Mr Rossato was found to be entitled to full-time employment benefits despite being employed on a casual basis. The decision was made largely due to the 'firm advanced commitment' that Mr Rossato had to ongoing work.
It is this exact wording that the new legislation will rely on to determine whether a worker is casual or should be entitled to full-time employment benefits. With the new legislation set to become law in the coming weeks, a casual employee will be as such, as long as "the employer makes no firm advance commitment that the work will continue indefinitely with an agreed pattern of work, and, the employee accepts the offer knowing that there is no firm advance commitment to ongoing work."
Employers need to keep this wording in mind and review their current employment arrangements and agreements with casual staff to ensure they align with the incoming definition for casual employees.
Contact me directly to discuss any of this legislation further and how it may impact your business.