If you are an employer of a larger business, this article may be relevant to you!

What Is A Small Business Employer?

“A small business employer is an employer with fewer than 15 employees at a particular time.” If you have 15 or more employees at a particular time, then you are not a small business employer. When you count the number of employees, you should also include those of your associated entities. However, do not include casual employees when you count, unless they are engaged on a regular and systematic basis. Consider whether you are a “small business employer”, if not, then this article may be relevant to you.

What’s The Change?

So now you have worked out that you are not a small business employer, you need to assess whether any existing casual employees (employed before 27 March 2021) are eligible to be offered to convert to permanent employment.

You need to:

o   Make a written offer to convert your casual employees to permanent employment. (This must be done within 21 days after making the assessment. 

OR

o   Write to employees explaining why they will not be made an offer. (This must be done within 21 days of making the assessment but by no later than the 27th of September, 2021.)

If they want to accept the offer to convert, your employees need to respond in writing within 21 days after receiving the offer. Otherwise, if they do not respond, you can assume they have declined the offer.

What If You Don’t Make An Offer For Casual Conversion?

If this applies to you and you don’t make an offer, you still need to write to the employee within 21 days after the employee’s 12 month anniversary, telling them:

o   That you are not making an offer for casual conversion

o   The reasons for not making the offer

The only reasons for not making an offer are:

o   The employee has not worked a regular pattern of hours on an ongoing basis for at least the last 6 months which they could continue working as a full-time or part-time employee without significant changes

o   You have reasonable grounds for not making an offer.

Examples of “Reasonable Grounds”

Reasonable grounds for deciding not to make an offer can include, that in the next 12 months:

o   The employee’s position will not exist anymore

o   The employee’s hours of work will significantly reduce

o   The employee’s days or times of work will significantly change, and that cannot be accommodated within the employee’s available days or times for work

o   Making the offer would not comply with a recruitment or selection process required by law

o   You would have to make a significant adjustment to the employee’s work hours for them to be employed full-time or part-time

Employers have to give every new casual employee a Casual Employment Information Statement (the CEIS) before, or as soon as possible after, they start their new job. 

This form can be downloaded here: 

https://www.fairwork.gov.au/ArticleDocuments/724/casual-employment-information-statement.pdf.aspx.

What Should You Consider?

You should firstly consider creating an automatic alert system that reminds you when a casual employee is nearing 12 months of continuous employment. Secondly, it is recommended that you setup a pattern identification system to identify those employees who have worked a regular pattern of hours on an ongoing basis in the preceding 6 months (in addition to your case by case assessment):

o   A minimum number of weeks the casual employee should work in the preceding 6 months

o   Whether a casual employee has worked similar:

§  Days and hours per week;

§  Starting and finishing times on a particular day of the week.

It is also recommended that you prepare template notices for:

o   Making an offer of casual conversion;

o   Not making an offer of casual conversion;

o   Granting an employee request for casual conversion; and

o   Refusing an employee request for casual conversion.

Resources:

https://www.fairwork.gov.au/about-us/news-and-media-releases/website-news/reforms

*Disclaimer: This is intended as general information only and not to be construed as legal advice. The above information is subject to changes over time. You should always seek professional advice before taking any course of action.*