Casual Conversion
By
Key Business Advisors
News Sales Tips
Your new employer obligations & casual employee entitlements start NOW.
Effective as of today, October 1st 2018, 85 Modern Awards have been updated to include an additional clause entitling casual employees that meet certain criteria, the option to formally request their employment status be changed to a permanent employment status (for example; full-time or part-time).
Furthermore, these requests cannot be unreasonably refused by the employer either. If the employer does have reasonable grounds to refuse an employee’s request, that are based on known facts and are reasonably foreseeable, the employer must advise this in writing and within 21 days of the employees’ request.
It is important that any correspondence with the employee regarding requests for casual conversion are in writing and are kept in the employee personnel file to ensure compliance with these new obligations.
What do employers need to do NOW?
• For any new casual employees employed from today, the casual employee must be given a copy of the “Casual Conversion” clause contained within the applicable Award within the first 12 months of employment.
• For existing casual employees, employers’ have until 1 January 2019 to provide the casual employee a copy of the “Casual Conversion” clause contained within the applicable Award.
Employers need to become familiar with the casual conversion clause within their relevant Award/s. Also understanding the potential risks to their business of having regular casuals (as we saw in a recent Federal Court ruling – see article here) it is most important that employers ensure they are effectively managing their casual workforce whilst reducing any other potential risks of for example; leave entitlement claims or unfair dismissal claims to their business.
Contact us on 1300 4 ADVICE to discuss the changes, how to ensure compliance and what they mean to you and your workforce.
