Are you a casual employee?
A casual employee is different to a permanent employee. Permanent employees can work either full time or part time. Casual employees usually work different hours and days each week. If you are not sure whether you are a casual employee you should check your contract, letter of appointment and pay slips. If you are still not sure, get
legal advice.
Not all casual employees can make an unfair dismissal application. Whether a casual employee can make an application will depend on the hours they worked and the hours they expected to work in the future.
If you were employed as a casual, but:
- you worked on a 'regular and systematic basis', and
- you believed that you would continue to be given casual work (and it was reasonable for you to believe this),
you may still be able to make an application.
A 'regular and systematic basis' could include:
- a set number of shifts per week, fortnight or month
- a set number of hours per week, fortnight or month
- a regular pattern of days, shifts or hours.
For example:
- a person who is asked to work whenever any other employee is off sick is not working on a regular and systematic basis
- a person who works on the same days each week, even if it is for a different number of hours each time, may be working on a regular and systematic basis
- a person who works the same number of hours each week but on different days may be working on a regular and systematic basis.
If you want to make an unfair dismissal application to the Fair Work Commission (the Commission), you must do so within 21 days of the date you were dismissed. If you are not sure whether you are a casual that works on a regular and systematic basis, you should get
legal advice.
Case Study - Karl
Karl was hired by fast food restaurant chain Bill's Burgers to work in their East town store as a casual employee. For the last nine months he has worked 15-20 hours every week, even though the shifts have been on different days. Two days ago Karl was told that he would not be offered any more shifts. Karl was not told why he was taken off the roster.
Although Karl was hired as a casual employee, if he was employed to do a regular amount of hours a week and was led to believe he would continue to do similar hours into the future, he may still be able to make an unfair dismissal application.
If you are not able to make an unfair dismissal application, you may still have rights under other laws.
For example:
-
a general protections dismissal application
-
a discrimination claim (if you have been discriminated against at work)
-
a bullying claim (if you haven't been dismissed but you are experiencing workplace bullying).
You should get
legal advice to help you understand your options.
For a handy guide to all the requirements you have to meet to make an unfair dismissal application, see
Checklist: Making an unfair dismissal application.
For answers to commonly asked questions, see
Can you apply? - Frequently Asked Questions.