CASUAL EMPLOYEES

Casual employees are those who are not entitled to paid holiday or sick leave but who receive a higher rate of pay to compensate for this. While many casual employees value the flexibility of arrangements which enable them to balance work with family, study or other non-work activities, others may find themselves in less than favourable employment arrangements.

The proportion of casual employees has grown slowly over the last two decades (from 17% in 1992 to 20% in 2009). There is a strong relationship between casual employment and part-time employment. In 2009, 72% of all casual employees worked part-time hours. The proportion of employed men who are casual employees increased from 11% in 1992 to 16% in 2009, while for women the proportion remained stable at about 25%.

In 2007, about half (52%) of all casual employees reported that they would prefer not to work on a casual basis even taking into account the effect this may have on their income. Most of these would prefer to have both paid holiday leave and sick leave, while a small proportion would prefer to have one or the other. However, these preferences varied by age. People aged 25-34 years were most likely to prefer paid leave entitlements over a higher rate of pay (65%), with 70% of men and 59% of women in that age group preferring paid leave entitlements. This may be because they were of an age where they would be more likely to be raising young children, and may require regular sick or carer's leave for themselves and their children.

Older people (aged 55 years or more) (37%) and younger people (aged 15-24 years) (46%) were the least likely to prefer paid leave entitlements over a higher rate of pay.