Publications
A Casual Discussion: Casual Employment in 2004
OCCASIONAL PAPER
The world of work has changed significantly over the past generation. Employment regulation needs to be flexible to allow businesses to respond to clients, consumers and competitors. Employees are more skilled, more mobile, and one size does not fit all. Preferences over how, where and when to work differ markedly. One staff member might want to maximise earnings, whilst another will maximise time off for family, for parenting, for personal study or simply for leisure.
Whilst the traditional concept of a full time job remains a large part of our labour market we have develop new ways of working---part time work, casual work, job sharing, multiple jobs, fixed term work, self employment and independent contracting.
Casual employment since the 1980's has grown from about 15% of the workforce to about 27% in 2004. Although the growth has been steady over this period, the rate of growth in the last five years has slowed. The highest growth rate occurred in the late 1980's.
A generation ago casual or as a part time employment was regarded as a lesser form of employment, something to be discouraged, or something that threatened full time jobs.
We have now moved beyond some of those old assumptions that were based on the male dominated Monday to Friday full time job. In 2004 casual work has its own legitimacy to employers and employees who choose it.
Flexible work arrangements also helps us meet important social and industrial goals like achieving high rates of return from work for mothers after maternity leave; increasing participation rates in the labour market among young people and students; making our businesses more efficient and competitive; and helping to better balance work and family.
Some of our emerging challenges, such as population ageing are also assisted by flexible forms of employment that enable mature aged workers to more easily transition from work into retirement.
Casuals are paid by the hour at a loaded rate usually between 20% and 30% higher than full time or part time staff. They do not receive accruing rights like annual leave and sick leave. A casual wage, and the loaded casual rate, can be a very useful component of the family budget especially in lower income households.
Not surprisingly, most casual employees work in service industries like retail, hospitality and clerical and in industries with peaks and troughs like agriculture and tourism. 45% of casual employment is amongst the young and student workforce not looking for a current long-term labour market commitment. More than 70% of casual employees want to remain in casual work.
The growth of casual employment over the past fifteen years has not been at the expense of full time jobs. Staff seeking casual work are not usually in the market for a full week's work. A recent analysis of the Australian labour market by Professor Kevin Doogen of the University of Bristol concluded that there has been a dramatic rise in the long term workforce in Australia, at the same time that we have increased casual employment.
Women's employment has increased by 30% and the long term employment of women has increased by 75%. Part time and casual employment has definitely facilitated the employment of women.
Although federal law and industrial tribunal decisions have removed some restrictions on casual employment, there is still plenty of employment regulation that applies to casual workers.
In some industries a casual employee is allowed to choose to convert their employment to permanent part time, with the employer carrying the onus to oppose conversion if they wish to. Where conversion rights exist, they have been rarely used. For example, over 98% of casual employees in the manufacturing industry have chosen to maintain their status as casuals. This suggests that most casual arrangements are truly consensual, and staff prefer to maximise their incomes and not loose the casual loading.
Casual work is not an end in itself, nor a panacea to avoid good employment practices.
No form of employment is an easy fix, nor beyond scrutiny. All forms of employment have productive value. All employees, including casual staff should be given appropriate training, reward and career development.
Some employers wrongly believe that employing a person as a casual employee and paying the higher hourly rate avoids all or most employment regulation that applies to permanent staff. This is not so---as employers in the unfair dismissal jurisdiction have discovered.
Courts are also prepared to go behind employment descriptions if they believe that the substance of the relationship means that it is not really casual employment.