As an employer, understanding different work structures and providing correct entitlements to your workers is essential. Failure to do so puts your business at risk of an employment claim or prosecution under Australian employment law. This article will outline what constitutes permanent work in Australia and highlight your obligations to employees under this work structure. It will also offer useful comparisons to temporary employment, casual employment and independent contracting.
What is Permanent Work?
When onboarding a new worker or considering amendments to your current work patterns, you first need to consider whether you require ongoing, ‘permanent’ service, ad hoc service, or specialised work for a short or fixed period.
A permanent work arrangement is likely to involve the following:
- set hours of work each week, either full-time or part-time;
- no specific end date;
- a minimum notice period on termination of employment;
- leave entitlements, such as sick leave, carer’s leave, annual leave and, in some cases, long service leave; and
- an ongoing or long-term employment relationship.
As outlined in the list above, your obligations to permanent employees are more expansive than any other workers. Accordingly, it is critical that you remain up to date with minimum entitlements under the National Employment Standards (NES). Likewise, having a well-drafted employment contract that sufficiently covers all these points is incredibly valuable. An employment lawyer can assist you in reviewing or drafting your permanent employment agreements.
Permanent vs Ad Hoc or Temporary Work
Hiring workers on a permanent basis encourages longevity, and greater engagement and can operate to decrease turnover. However, permanent work arrangements may not always be suitable for the work you require and can add a layer of complexity to termination processes.
There are numerous work types in Australia, each with unique characteristics and entitlements at law. Some factors may influence your choice of arrangement, like the availability of funds or work. In contrast, in some cases, it simply makes more commercial sense to engage temporary or ad hoc workers.
You may find the following table useful in deciding what work type is most suitable for your business.
|
Work Type |
Description |
Suitability |
|
Permanent |
|
|
|
Casual |
|
|
|
Fixed-term |
|
|
|
Contracting |
|
|
Conversion to Permanent Work
As a business owner, you should also understand your obligations under the NES to provide casual employees with a pathway to becoming permanent employees. This is known as casual conversion.
Unless there are reasonable grounds not to do so, you must offer a casual employee conversion to permanency if:
- you have employed them for more than 12 months;
- they have worked a regular pattern of hours for the last 6 months; and
- they could continue working that regular pattern of hours as a permanent employee without significant changes.
Your employees can also request casual conversion if they have worked for your business for at least 12 months and 21 days. If you are a small business, you do not have to offer casual conversion. A small business is one that employs fewer than 15 employees, including executive employees and regular casual employees. However, employees in a small business are still entitled to request conversion to permanent work after 12 months.
Permanent Employment Agreements
As your permanent employees have a number of entitlements, it is prudent to provide carefully drafted employment agreements. You should ensure that your contracts address, at a minimum:
- position and employment status;
- commencement date;
- duties and responsibilities;
- hours of work;
- remuneration;
- leave entitlements;
- termination and notice; and
- confidential information and intellectual property.
As an employer, understand your essential employment obligations with this free LegalVision factsheet.
Key Takeaways
Permanent work in Australia is characterised by regular work hours and an ongoing employment relationship. As an employer, you must understand what makes an employee permanent and provide them with their legal entitlements. You also need to provide permanent workers, at a minimum:
- regular and systematic hours each week;
- sick and carer’s, annual, and in some cases, long service leave; and
- notice on termination of employment.
If you need assistance understanding work structures or drafting agreements, our experienced employment lawyers can assist as part of our LegalVision membership. For a low monthly fee, you will have unlimited access to lawyers to answer your questions and draft and review your documents. Call us today on 1300 544 755 or visit our membership page.
Frequently Asked Questions
A permanent employee works regular hours each week and expects ongoing work. In contrast, a temporary or fixed-term employee may work regular hours each week but does not have an ongoing employment relationship with you. A temporary employee usually has a specified end date to the employment relationship.
Whilst it is not a legal requirement to provide your permanent employees with a contract of employment, it is in your best interests to do so. An employment contract will clearly define the obligations of both parties and operates to protect your commercial interests during and after employment.
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