A recent court case resulted in casuals being paid annual and sick leave when they left, as well as casual loading while they were employed. It’s an Australia-wide industry decision with huge implications for the Australian pet industry.

Here’s what your pet businesses need to know to avoid Fair Work action on your business.

The Federal Court ruled that a casual worker was actually a permanent employee and granted annual and carers leave entitlements to two workers who took the case against Workpac.  See legal opinion on the ruling here.

The decision revolved around that fact that the “casual” employees were given a consistent and inflexible roster that was set some time in advance. The Court ruled that the definition of “casual” – which largely relates to having employees “on tap” to cover peaks and troughs in the workflow – did not apply when there was predictable and consistent rostering over a period of time.

Workpac is now required to pay these (and presumably all other employees in similar circumstances) annual and carer’s leave entitlements in addition to the ‘casual loading’ which is paid to real casual workers and is normally meant to “cover” for not normally having these allowances. So effectively they are being made to pay twice!

WHAT YOU NEED TO DO: follow these steps

1. Make your rosters flexible. Have too many casuals if necessary so that you can roster different people at different days and times
2. Ensure that you do not give your casuals so many hours that they cannot legitimately work for someone else
3. Ensure your workplace contracts specify that the employee is casual and that working hours will change from week to week from 0 hours to up to 35 hours.
4. Avoid “anti-competition” clauses that mean casuals can’t work for other people
5. For great casuals that you want to put onto regular hours, consider switching them to permanent-part-time. It’s better for your cash flow too!

For the full legal ruling, click here.