Christmas Casuals

Some employers consider hiring extra casuals during the busy festive season, often called Christmas Casuals.

Christmas Casuals are casual employees who are usually hired in the lead up to the busy Christmas shopping season. Sometimes they remain employed after the festive season is over, but usually they are employed to help during the busy holiday period only. An employer will need to decide whether they will continue to offer casual shifts once the holiday season is over.

What to be aware of?

All casual employees are employed on the basis that there is no firm advance commitment to ongoing work with an agreed pattern of work. This means that there is no commitment from the employer that the work will continue on a permanent basis.

An employer can choose to offer the casual employee work, and the casual employee can decide whether they will accept the offer of work or not. A casual employee also receives a casual loading, which is usually 25%.

The Fair Work Ombudsman can help businesses determine the correct modern award that will apply to and cover their staff.

Resources for hiring staff

The Fair Work Ombudsman’s website sets out information to help businesses find the right person for the job, whilst ensuring that the business complies with its legal obligations. The free resources include:

• an online course on how to hire an employee
• a job advertisement template
• a job description template
• a reference checking form

Go to: Hiring employees | Small Business Showcase Fair Work Ombudsman

Newsletter snippet content:

Employer’s beware: Pre-shift work

A recent case of the Federal Circuit and Family Court serves as a reminder to employers that pre-shift tasks that an employee is required to perform in order to be ready to commence work at the beginning of their shift, could be considered ‘work’ for which employees must be paid.

Our article will provide an overview of the case and the key lesson for employers.