Categories of employment
There are a range of categories of employment with different sets of obligations on the employer and employee.
Continuing or regular employees are usually employed where an employer requires a stable workforce that has the requisite knowledge and skills.
They have a continuing contract of employment of unspecified duration, an expectation of continuing employment and are required to work a certain number of hours a week. The number of hours will depend on the type of work and conditions of employment. Most full-time employees would be required to work at least 35 hours per week.
Part-time continuing or regular employees work fewer hours than full-time employees doing the same or a similar job. Like full-time employees, they have a continuing contract of employment of unspecified duration and they may receive, on a pro-rata basis, the same award conditions as full-time employees.
Casual employees are generally engaged for short-term, irregular or seasonal work. The essential feature of casual work is that the employer and employee enter into a series of short-term contracts on specific occasions. There is no promise to provide work or be available for work on other occasions.
The length of time worked by casuals may vary and they are paid by the hour or day. They usually have no access to permanent employment entitlements such as sick leave and annual leave, so their wages usually include compensatory loadings - 15 to 20 percent is common in awards. Awards can also prescribe the maximum period for which someone can be employed as a casual. Casual employees who are employed regularly may be entitled to benefits such as superannuation and long service leave under federal and State legislation.
Some awards require the employer to notify the employee of their engagement as a casual. Even when such requirements are not specified, notifying the employee of their engagement as a casual and explaining what that means is good employment practice that can prevent disputes.
The termination of employment provisions of legislation such as the Workplace Relations Act do not generally apply to short-term casual employees. However, the federal termination of employment provisions can provide protection for termination of employment to casual employees who have been employed for longer than 12 months.
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An employee's contract of employment may specify a probationary period. Where the period of probation is determined in advance of the employment and the period or maximum period is three months or less (or longer, if reasonable given the nature and circumstances of the job), dismissal of the employee during the probationary period is exempt from the federal termination of employment provisions.
Fixed-term employees are often employed for project work or to replace employees absent on long service or maternity leave. They generally accrue entitlements such as annual and sick leave on a pro-rata basis.
If an employment relationship ends because of the completion of the fixed term, it cannot be said that there has been a termination of employment by or at the initiative of the employer, so it is not covered by termination of employment legislation. It should be noted, however, that in a situation involving a series of ostensibly separate fixed-term contracts, in which the parties are apparently working on an assumption of renewal, the reality of the relationship may be continuing employment, and as a result non-renewal may amount to termination of employment.
If a fixed-term employee's employment is terminated before the expiry of the contract, the employee may have a right to pursue a remedy under the legislation in relation to termination of employment.
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