Protect your business with a legally binding Casual Employment Contract

What is casual employment?

As an employment type, casual employment differs from permanent full-time and part-time employment in that it involves a low level of commitment from both the employer and employee.

A casual employee may only work when there is a requirement for them, or they may have pre-determined hours — yet when compared with the regular employment hours of permanent employees, working hours for casual employees are often irregular.

Recent amendments to the Fair Work Act mean that casual employees who have been employed on that premise in excess of twelve months — now called long-term casuals — are able to request either a full-time or part-time employment contract from their employer. This request can only be refused by the employer if there are sufficient grounds to do so.

Leave and pay entitlements for casual employees

Casual employees are not afforded the same leave rights as permanent or part-time employees and are not paid for annual, sick, personal, carer’s, community service, or compassionate leave.

To compensate for this lack of leave entitlements, casual employees are generally paid a higher hourly rate of pay — called casual loading — than permanent employees and are also entitled to the current award rate of pay.

Protect your business with a legally binding Casual Employment Contract

Any business owner who employs staff needs to have a formal agreement in place. At Off-Risk Legal Templates, we understand exactly what your business needs in order to be covered legally.

You may have a verbal or written agreement; however, it is best to have an employment agreement in writing to protect your business. Our ultimate goal is to assist Australian business owners to be legally protected. We have worked with Australian business owners, helping to settle business and commercial disputes, for over ten years.

In this time, we have seen countless business owners endure the sometimes devastating consequences of having either poorly written contracts or no legal protection at all — consequences that could have been avoided with a legally-binding Casual Employment Agreement.

With a fundamental belief that all business owners should be able to access affordable legal protection, we created the Casual Employment Contract template — along with a range of other legally-binding agreement templates — to minimise risk and safeguard your business against potentially lengthy and expensive disputes.

This Casual Employment Agreement is drafted by Australian lawyers and barristers and acts as a legally binding contract between you (the employer) and your casual staff member.

A legal casual employment contract outlines the terms and conditions of employment, including the obligations and responsibilities for both parties (the employer and the employee). Our Casual Employment Agreement template requires little input or drafting by the user. Protect your business with our legally binding Casual Employment Agreement today.

Who is this Casual Employment Agreement designed for?

• Business owners who employ casual staff
• Can be used Australia-wide
• This agreement is general so can be applied to any industry or award

What does this Casual Employment Agreement include?

This Casual Employment Agreement is clear, concise and straightforward to use, and is designed for any business owner seeking to employ a casual employee and covers standard employment conditions.

It includes the rights, powers and responsibilities of both the employer and the employee.

Within this Casual Employee Agreement, you will find:

• Interpretation and Definitions
• Employment Term
• Nature of Casual Employment
• Employment Requirements and Details
• Applicable Laws and Industry Awards
• Employee’s Duties
• Policies and Procedures
• Wages, Superannuation and Leave Entitlements
• Redundancy
• Employment Expenses
• Confidential Information and Intellectual Property
• Employee’s Warranties
• Termination of Employment by Employer
• Termination of Employment by Employee
• Employee Restraints
• Other Employment Conditions
  • Hours of Work
  • Location of Work
  • Health and Safety
  • Hourly Rate Review
  • Tools
  • Dress Code
  • Return of Property
• General
  • Notices
  • Variation
  • Waiver
  • Severance
  • No Binding Authority
  • Entire Agreement
  • Authority and Legal Advice
  • Governing Law and Jurisdiction
  • Counterparts
  • Survival
  • Execution Clauses

Your responsibilities as the employer

As this casual employment agreement is general and not industry or award-specific, it is the responsibility of the employer to check any special industrial laws, awards, orders, determinations, or enterprise agreements, that may apply to your specific employee.

You can find these on the Fair Work website.

It is your responsibility to ensure you are paying your employee the correct pay rate according to their award and meeting any other minimum employee standards and entitlements.

FAQs

What defines a casual employee?

A casual employee is employed with no commitment to ongoing or regular work with the employer. They will generally work shifts and are paid for their work hours with additional casual loading.

Are there special conditions for a casual employee?

Yes. For example, a casual employee does not receive pay for days off (holidays or sick leave).

A casual employee will still receive the minimum entitlements under National Employment Standards.

What if I employ a casual employee and it becomes long term?

That is fine! If your casual employee works regular hours or the same days every week for an extended period, they can become a ‘long-term casual employee’ or ‘permanent casual’.

After 12 months of working, a casual employee may request:

• Flexible working arrangements
• To become a full-time or part-time employee
• To take parental leave

If you run a small business (less than 15 staff), you do not generally have to offer a full-time or part-time contract to a casual employee after 12 months.

Do I need a written agreement for a casual employee?

To protect your business and your employee, you should always have a written employment agreement in place. It helps everyone know what is expected of them and legally protects you (as the business owner and employer) if anything goes wrong.

Can any business use this casual employment contract?

Yes. However, you need to be aware that this is a general casual employment contract and is not industry or award specific. You will need to perform due diligence to ensure you have covered the nature of your business and minimum employment standards and entitlements, including those imposed by any industry awards.

Does this casual employment contract cover all of Australia?

Yes. It does not matter where you are located; you can use this template in any State or Territory in Australia.

Legal Agreement templates to suit all of your business needs

Along with Casual Employment Agreement Templates, we provide a range of legally-binding Agreement Templates to protect your business, including standard Full-Time Employment Agreement (Contract), Fixed Term Full-Time Employment Agreement (Contract), Part-Time Employment Agreement (Contract), Independent Contractor Agreement (Contract), and Subcontractor Agreement (Contract).

If you have any questions about our Casual Employment Contract Templates or any of our other products, be sure to have a look at our FAQs, or simply send us a message — one of our knowledgeable and dedicated support team members will get back to you within 48 hours.

Current document version number

• Casual Employment Agreement – v2.2025