Casual employment amendments to the FW Act are now law!
Broadly, the FW Economic Recovery Act inserts into the Fair Work Act 2009 (Cth) (FW Act):
- A statutory definition of "casual employee".
- A statutory rule for offsetting amounts payable by an employer to a person who has been deemed by a court as having been misclassified as a casual.
- Two new minimum entitlements for casual employees in the National Employment Standards (NES), being:
- casual conversion, providing a pathway for all casual employees to convert to permanent part-time or full-time employment; and
- a requirement for the Fair Work Ombudsman (FWO) to prepare and publish a Casual Employment Information Statement (CE Information Statement), and for employers to provide a copy of the CE Information Statement to casual employees.
Practitioners should be aware that the amendments commenced on Saturday, 27 March 2021 and are now law.
For guidance on the amendments to casual employment introduced into the FW Act by the FW Economic Recovery Act, see Toolkit, The FW Act amendments to casual employment.
Practical Law Australia’s expert legal writers have practical expertise gained from some of the country's leading law firms and corporate legal departments, including Ashurst, Baker & McKenzie, Gilbert + Tobin, Herbert Smith Freehills, the Australian Broadcasting Corporation (ABC) and more. They understand the pressure to deliver timely and cost effective legal advice, which is why Practical Law’s fully maintained practice notes, precedents, drafting notes and checklists offer clear and concise know-how with a practical perspective.
For more information on Practical Law Australia’s legal writing team, visit legal.thomsonreuters.com.au/practical-law-team