Supervisors and managers are obligated to know the contracted conditions of their staff and to understand the difference between a daily work contract (casual) and a weekly work contract (permanent).

Case Study 1.
Jenny is a casual and works three regular shifts a week at a major supermarket. She was recently asked to work an extra shift but, for personal reasons, couldn’t. On hearing this, her supervisor burst into a fit of rage. “You have an obligation to be available six days a week. If you can’t work the extra shift, you can look for work elsewhere”, she said.

Is this information TRUE or FALSE?

Case Study 2.
Tim is a junior casual working on registers every Thursday and Saturday in a large supermarket. At his nominated finish time of 7.00pm, his supervisor always instructs him to close off, count his cash drawer and then sign off. These activities cause him to work until 7.12pm, at which time, he signs off. His supervisor disallows the extra 12 minutes and therefore, he isn’t paid for them.

Is this information TRUE or FALSE?

Case Study 3.
Skye is 15 and has been working casually for six months at a large supermarket chain. Her parents arrange to go to Port Douglas during Skye’s school holidays and Skye, as part of the family is expecting to go with them. “You need to apply for holidays”, her supervisor tells her. “You’ve got no right to take time off during school holidays because you were employed specifically to work during this time”, she said.

Is this information TRUE or FALSE?

Whilst each one of these scenarios is unfortunately true, the supervisors’ claims are, in fact, false.

Casual work is a daily work commitment from the employer and the worker.

The very nature of casual employment is based on an ‘as needs’ basis, meaning that employers call in casual workers to work only when they are needed. Casual employees can either accept or reject their employer’s offer of work.

If an employer wants a worker who is obligated to work certain shifts, they need to convert a casual employee’s status to either permanent part-time or full-time.
Supervisors and managers are obligated to know the contracted conditions of their staff and to understand the difference between a daily work contract (casual) and a weekly work contract (permanent).

A casual employee is only obligated to be ready to work at the agreed time and to also work to the best of their ability during that shift.
Time spent counting the cash drawer or any other duties are to be properly allowed for and completed prior to signing off. A worker should sign off at the notified time or get paid for the extra time worked.

Because casual workers receive a loading, they do not qualify for holiday pay and do not have to apply to the store for holiday approval. Casual workers are either available to work certain shifts or not. Even if casuals receive extra shifts over school holidays, they’re not obligated to be available to work them. This also applies to times when casuals are sick. They should cancel their shift as soon as possible but aren’t required to bring in a medical certificate to cover the absence.

Casuals are very important members of any workforce but no employer can expect a casual to meet the rostering obligations required of a permanent employee.

Of course, for further information on the issues raised in this article, please call or email the union office.