Characteristics and use of casual employees in Australia

Casual workers are defined as employees without access to leave entitlements. Under awards and enterprise agreements, casual workers are paid a loading on top of their hourly wage rate - usually set at 25 per cent - to provide financial compensation for the lack of access to leave entitlements such as annual leave, sick pay and carer's leave. There has been some discussion and concern expressed by some organisations about the growth of casual employment in Australia over the past few decades with suggestions it is an insecure, precarious and a non-preferred form of employment. This analysis sheds further light on whether preferences of casual workers are being met.

The use of casual employees in Australia grew strongly from the early 1980s to the mid-1990s as the Australian economy experienced labour market de-regulation and became more exposed to international competition. The composition of employment growth has been more balanced over the past 20 years with growth in use of casual employees only slightly higher than growth in use of permanent employees. The prevalence of casual employees has remained relatively stable during this period with casual employees consistently accounting for around a quarter of all employees. Casual employees appear to be reasonably satisfied with the pay they receive and the flexibility this form of work offers. But they are far less satisfied with the number and regularity of hours of work they receive and the use of skills they have acquired. Variable hours is directly associated with variable pay which can affect the ability to repay debts and service loans. The data shows casual employees are far more likely than permanent employees to want more hours of work per week. Less is known about the proportion of casual employees who choose voluntarily to remain in this form of work and the proportion who take casual jobs as these are the only types of jobs they can find.

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