How to hire casual staff in Australia: a small business guide

Casual staff are the backbone of Australian cafes, bars, shops and salons: you roster them when you need them, they get a loading on top of the base rate in exchange for leave entitlements, and either side can end the arrangement without notice in most cases. Here's what you need to know before you put someone on.

What "casual" means now

Since the Closing Loopholes reforms, an employee is casual only if there's no firm advance commitment to continuing, indefinite work, and they're entitled to a casual loading or a specific casual pay rate. If you roster someone on a regular, predictable pattern for months, they may gain a pathway to convert to permanent employment - the Fair Work Ombudsman's casual employees page explains the "employee choice" rules and when they apply to small businesses.

What a casual costs you

• Base rate plus casual loading. Most hospitality and retail roles are covered by a modern award, and casual loading is typically 25% on top of the permanent base rate. Award rates change every July - always check the current figure with the Fair Work pay calculator.
• Superannuation.You pay the super guarantee on a casual's ordinary time earnings regardless of how few hours they work - see the ATO's super for employers guide for the current rate.
• Penalty rates. Evenings, weekends and public holidays usually attract penalties under the award. Budget for the roster you actually plan to run, not the weekday day rate.
• Workers compensation.Casuals must be covered by your state or territory's workers comp insurance from their first shift.

The paperwork, in order

• Give every new casual the Fair Work Information Statement and the Casual Employment Information Statement - both are mandatory.
• Collect a TFN declaration and super choice form (or use their stapled super fund via the ATO).
• Report pay through Single Touch Payroll from the first pay run - most payroll software handles this automatically.
• Check role-specific credentials before the first shift: RSA for serving alcohol, food safety training where required, a Working with Children Check where relevant. State rules differ.

Finding people who actually turn up

For shift work, distance is destiny: someone twenty minutes' walk away will cover a Sunday morning shift that someone ninety minutes across town won't. That's the entire premise of My Local Jobs - your ad is shown to seekers by distance from your door, applicants share their availability up front, and credentials like RSA are verified on their profile. See how it works for businesses, or post a job now.