How should employers respond to requests for permanent employment?
Casual workers across Australia now have the right to seek permanent employment from their employer under a new employee choice pathway introduced by the government's workplace reforms.
Starting February 26, eligible casuals can now provide a written notice to their employers if they want to transition to full-time or part-time employment.
To help employers and employees comply with the changes, the Fair Work Ombudsman (FWO) has released a new template that can be used by employees when they want to notify their employer that they want to change to permanent employment.
The FWO also published a template employers can use to respond to an employee's notice to change to permanent employment.
Responding to requests for change
Before responding, the FWO said employers must first consult with the employee to discuss what will change if the employer accepts the notice.
This includes whether the employee would be full-time or part-time, what their hours of work would be and when the change would take effect, the FWO said.
Employers who are accepting the change should provide a written response that includes information about the employee's new employment status, their new hours of work, and when the change will take effect.
Changes must take effect from the first day of the employee's first full pay period starting after the employer gives their response, unless the employee and employer agree to another day, the FWO said.
Refusing permanent status
Employers can only refuse the notice to change to permanent employment based on limited reasons, including:
The employee still meets the definition of a casual employee
There are fair and reasonable operational grounds for not accepting the notification, such as:
Substantial changes would be required to the way work in the employer's business is organised
There would be significant impacts on the operation of the employer's business, or
Substantial changes to the employee's employment conditions would be necessary to ensure the employer doesn't break rules (such as in an award or agreement) that apply to the employee.
Accepting the change would mean the employer won't comply with a recruitment or selection process required by law.
The employer must respond in writing to the employee within 21 days of the employee giving the notice, the FWO said on its website.
Demand for permanent status
The Australian Council of Trade Unions (ACTU) said this new right will help hundreds of thousands of casual employees in Australia who want to transition to permanent roles.
ACTU's recent report revealed that 687,500 casuals in Australia want a permanent job. However, barely one in 15 casuals have been able to secure it.
This new right will assist many workers, the ACTU report read. As this report shows, many people are seeking job security and paid leave entitlements, particularly given the toll work insecurity can have on their health and financial security and for their families that rely on them.
Closing Loopholes Law's impact
The new right is part of the government's Closing Loopholes Law, which passed both houses of the Australian Parliament in February 2024.
The reforms introduced a new definition of casual work and gave the Fair Work Commission the power to settle disputes over an employee who wants to move to permanent work.
A total of 230,000 employees in Australia are now in permanent jobs as casual employment dropped in the wake of the reforms, according to ACTU's research.
Casual work also dipped to 22.2% of all employment today, down from the average of 24.1% under the nine years of Coalition governments.
There are now 230,000 permanent jobs that would have been casual jobs if it were not for the Albanese Government introducing new workplace rights and keeping employment low, said ACTU Secretary Sally McManus in a statement.
This is a very significant achievement and a boost to job security for Australian workers.
https://www.hcamag.com/au/specialisation/employment-law/heads-up-casual-workers-can-now-seek-permanent-employment-under-new-ir-reforms/526401
