Relationship Status
One way to consider employment in a new context is to think of it as a relationship of the romantic kind. There’s no right or wrong relationship status. Ask anyone who has just been through a divorce, single never felt so good. The online dating sites tell another story – where single is sad and seeking another; simply sex; or happy alone but wants a counterpart to their kind of crazy. The goal is to obtain a ‘contract,’ more formal than the employment version of Call Me Maybe by Carly Rae Jepson.
The Fair Work Ombudsman website outlines your rights around being a casual employee. Information on changing your employment status is included, as well as details on how to make the request to move to permanency. For those who are being asked to ‘convert’ to a permanent role and need to respond to an offer to change your employment status, the site also has information for you. This is called casual conversion in the employment context.
First, let’s break these employment categories down:
- Casual employee
There is no judgment here. Some people are casual because they like the freedom. Others are desperate to find permanent work but cannot. Casualisation of certain industries is a problem from a big picture perspective because of the power imbalance created.
👛 Workers who speak up about workplace problems risk not being awarded work in the future.
👛 Workers are more likely to work while unwell because casual workers do not have access to leave (sick leave).
👛 Workers can find it harder to maintain work/life balance because they do not get access to leave (annual leave).
If you’re a casual and are seeking better job security, check out the Fair Work Commission Fact Sheets and website to find out more.
- Permanent employee
A permanent employee has a guaranteed minimum number of hours for each employment cycle
Although casual employees have an employment contract and may be given the same training as permanent employees – part time or full time – they do not have certain additional obligations to their employer. For example, if permanent employees are unwell and can’t attend work they’re required to notify their employer, within certain timeframes and, if taking an extended period^ of personal leave, they may need to provide evidence in the form of a medical certificate.^^ Casuals simply follow the notification process and don’t show up.
^ The standard is usually once an employee is unfit for work on Day Three, but is generally not required for two consecutive days. This varies based on industry, the industrial instrument and a history of excess leave or inappropriate leave patterns.
^^ It can become costly to see a doctor for every instance you are unwell. A statutory declaration is also considered adequate evidentiary proof in many cases but, keep in mind, it is a legal document and there can be serious consequences for knowingly providing false information to your employer.
✅ Workers have a minimum number of hours each pay period – usually weekly, sometimes fortnightly – and cannot legally be dropped beneath this minimum.
✅ Workers can pick up additional hours, when available and if desired.
✅ Over time, workers also clock up personal leave (sick/carers’ and annual), as well as gaining other benefits such as bereavement leave; domestic and family violence leave; and other specific forms of leave, relevant to their industry or field of work.
❌ Some employers will keep workers on a small number of minimum contracted hours, then regularly roster additional hours. The minimum hours is not enough to pay bills and part time workers, as we saw above with casuals, are in fear of losing those extra hours, if they do speak up. They choose to stay silent.
💁🏻♀️If a worker is regularly working above the minimum contracted hours and has done so for a certain period of time, they can request to make these hours, or a portion of them, permanent. Usually the time period is six months, but some industries will assess requests at the three-month mark.
- Full time salaried employee
We have made it. The penultimate in employment, the full time salaried employee. Consistent hours, job security and support, right? Wrong. This type of employee, particularly in hospitality and retail, are ‘salaried,’ compared to workers who are on an hourly wage. The barista receives a percentage extra for working on a weekend. Usually 150% for a Saturday (time and a half) and 200% on a Sunday (double time) but the salaried worker is paid a standard annual rate, regardless of when they work.
It is a common arrangement for people in management roles and cooks or chefs, for example. It is also a tool used to take advantage of workers in management roles within the community sector, exacerbated by the mentality of the sector:
You do it for the love of it, not the money.
Bosses who emotionally blacmAil
No, little emotional blackmailing bully. Those workers have bills to pay. They do it for the love and the money.
❌ It creates unfair rostering practices, especially around allocation of public holidays.
❌ It can create a sense of injustice, if not managed well. A person with a more complex role being paid on par with a coworker can lead to interpersonal conflict, more so with existing conflict.
💁🏻♀️ It can be managed by implementing fair rostering practices, time in lieu (TIL) or time off in lieu (TOIL) for public holiday shifts, alternate rostering of public holidays or financial compensation.**
** The industrial standard is the minimum required and there is nothing to stop or prevent an employer from offering more. In fact, doing so makes them an employer of choice, which increases the likelihood of attracting quality staff. This enhances product or service quality, sometimes both, which can impact on sales. It is a proactive model of employment.
Know Your Plate
Think you know what is happening behind the scenes at your local coffee shop? Friday night takeout is staple, but is it serving those who serve you? Sunday morning brunch is brilliant but when you sit back and just observe, is it everything it appears to be?
You might find there’s more at play than you realise and, in this case, a side of suffering you didn’t know you ordered and would never agree to, if you knew what really went down in the cool room.
The answer, in the most recent case encountered, was a young female, a beautiful blonde and the big boss who decided to put his hands where he legally shouldn’t have. The chef grabbed her, forced her to go home and pushed her out of harms way. His initial relief, soon superseded by sheer frustration, forced to stay silent for fear he’d lose his job. He would here.
As such, let us introduce you to the one tool you never knew existed but wished you’d known about sooner. It will help you feel safe knowing you can still have your Friday night in with that favourite Thai curry without another worker being harmed. Purchase power leads to people power and that is real change:
You can read a case example here, but this is just one of many. We have included it to demonstrate there is justice available, but only if the person affected speaks up.
Offers & Requests To Convert From Casual To Permanent Employment.
NATIONAL EMPLOYMENT STANDARDS
