The National Employment Standards (NES) provides some casual employees with the right to become a full-time or part-time employee.
Some casual employees must be offered casual conversion by their employer while others can only request it.
The below questions should be used to assist you in understanding employee entitlements relating to casual conversion and to guide you in dealing with employee casual conversion entitlements.
Has the casual employee been employed for at least 12 months?
- If yes, then go to next question.
- If no, then the employee is not entitled to convert to permanent employment.
Is your business a small business employer?
(A small business employer is an employer with fewer than 15 employees at a particular time. When counting the number of employees, employees of associated entities of the employer are included. Casual employees are not included unless engaged on a regular and systematic basis.)
- If yes, then you have no obligation to offer conversion to permanent employment to your casual employee(s). However, your employee can request conversion (see Responding to requests for casual conversion below).
- If no, then go to next question.
Has the employee worked a regular pattern of hours for the last 6 months?
- If yes, go to next question.
- If no, you must provide the employee with written notice to the employee(s) using the "Casual employee - Ineligible for casual conversion letter" that you are not offering casual conversion because they are not eligible. Note, this should occur within 21 days of their 12-month anniversary date.
Are there reasonable grounds for not offering casual conversion?
(Reasonable grounds must be based on facts that are known or reasonably foreseeable and can include that, in the next 12 months, the employee’s position won’t exist, the employee’s hours of work will significantly reduce, or the employee’s days or time of work will significantly change, and that can’t be accommodated within the employee’s available days or times for work.)
- If yes, then you must provide written notice detailing the reasonable grounds for not offering casual conversion. Note: this should occur within 21 days of their 12-month anniversary date.
- If no, then then you must make a written offer the employee of full-time or part-time employment. Note: this should occur within 21 days of their 12-month anniversary date.
- If the employee accepts the offer within 21 days, then you must consult with the employee and confirm details of their conversion in writing. Note: this should occur within 21 days.
- If the employee does not accept the offer, they remain as a casual employee, however they will have a residual right to request conversion (see Residual right to request casual conversion below.)
Residual right to casual conversion
- Casual employees who have not converted to full or part-time employment and remain working a regular pattern of hours will have a residual right to request casual conversion.
- An employee isn’t eligible to make a request if, in the last 6 months:
- they’ve refused an offer from their employer to convert to permanent employment
- their employer has told them in writing that they won’t be making an offer of casual conversion because there was a reasonable ground not to make the offer
- their employer has refused another request for casual conversion because there was a reasonable ground to refuse the request.
- Casual employees who believe they’re eligible to become a permanent employee can make a request for conversion every 6 months.
Responding to requests for casual conversion (for small business employment & casual employees who have otherwise not covered)
- The eligibility for casual employees of smaller business employers to request casual conversion is the same as the above. That is, to be eligible to request casual conversion, a casual employee of a small business employer:
- Needs to have been employed by the employer for at least 12 months,
- Needs to have worked a regular pattern of hours on an ongoing basis for at least the last 6 months, and
- Could continue working these hours as a full-time or part-time employee without significant changes.
- When an eligible employee requests casual conversion, you must respond, with:
- any reasonable grounds to refuse the conversion request using the "Casual employee – Notification of reasonable grounds letter". Note: this should occur within 21 days of the request being made, or
- consult with the employee and confirm details of their conversion in writing. Note: this should occur within 21 days.
For more information: https://www.fairwork.gov.au/starting-employment/types-of-employees/casual-part-time-and-full-time/casual-employees/becoming-a-permanent-employee