There are a few key differences between part-time and casual employment.
1. Leave Entitlements
Part-Time Employee | Casual Employee |
Entitled to NES paid leave entitlements such as annual leave, sick leave and carers leave. | No Paid leave entitlements for casual employees. |
2. Working Hours
Part-Time Employee | Casual Employee |
Entitled to set working hours planned by your business. For example, every Tuesday, Wednesday and Friday. | No guaranteed working hours. The working hours will be irregular and unpredictable. |
3. Public Holiday Rates
Part-Time Employee | Casual Employee |
If a part-time employee’s usual working day falls on a public holiday, they must be paid. If they don’t usually work on the public holiday, they are not entitled to public holiday pay. | Casual employees do not get any public holiday payments. |
4. Pay
Part-Time Employee | Casual Employee |
A part-time employee’s pay is usually based on an annual salary outlined in the modern award or their employment agreement. | Pay is generally based on an hourly rate of pay with a casual loading. |
5. Superannuation
There are no differences in superannuation between part-time and casual employment.
Part-Time Employee | Casual Employee |
Part-time employees are entitled to 9.5% of their ordinary earnings (does not include overtime payments). | A casual employee is entitled to 9.5% of the value of their ordinary time earnings. |
6. Notice Period
Part-Time Employee | Casual Employee |
The notice period is set out in a modern award or agreement. It’s usually 2-3 weeks. A part-time employee is also entitled to written notice or payment if you wish to terminate their employment. | There is no notice period. Unless your employee’s agreement or award specifies a different notice period. |
Looking to get started? Use these tools to create an employment agreement yourself:
It is important you select the right contract to suit your business and ensure you are adhering to all the correct standards within your industry.
You can discuss this with the team on the Legal & Accounting Advice Plan, or you can seek one-off advice through our Legal Services team here