Deadline on Turning casual employees permananent

Employment Law: 27 September 2021

Employers who are not small business employers have until today to assess whether their casual employees who were employed before 27 March are eligible to be offered permanent employment.

Employers who are not small business employers have until today to assess whether their casual employees who were employed before 27 March are eligible to be offered permanent employment.

If so, they must:

• make a written offer to convert their casual employment to permanent employment (to be done within 21 days after making the assessment); or
• write to them explaining why they won't be receiving an offer (to be done within 21 days of making the assessment, but no later than today).

You must also give your casual employees the attached Casual Employment Information Statement as soon as possible from today.

Eligible casuals for these purposes are those who:

• have been employed by you for 12 months; and
• have worked a regular pattern of hours on an ongoing basis for at least the last six months; and
• could continue working these hours as a full-time or part-time employee without significant changes.

As for new casuals, such employers must now make give them the Casual Employment Information Statement before, or as soon as possible after, they start their new job and, further, within 21 days after their 12-month anniversary, give them a written offer to convert their employment to permanent employment if they are eligible.

Penalties of more than $13,000 (for an individual) or $66,000 (for a company) can be imposed for breaches of the National Employment Standards (NES), including these new casual conversion provisions.