The main difference between casual and part-time is that a part-time employee has an expectation of ongoing work. By contrast, a casual has no guaranteed hours of work or expectation of ongoing work in the future. Casual employees provide businesses with a great deal of flexibility as casuals can be hired as needed.
Entitlements such as sick leave, annual leave and carers leave are granted to part-time employees on a pro-rata basis according to the hours they worked. Also, ongoing employment (or a fixed-term contract) must be guaranteed to part-timers, and to end their employment, they must give notice or be given it in writing.
A permanent part-time employee is someone who works regular and ongoing hours, but fewer hours a week than someone working full-time. Part-time employees have access to the same entitlements as a full-time permanent employee, but on a pro-rata basis according to the hours worked.
Work Hours
| # of hours per day | # of hours per week |
|---|
| Full time jobs | 8 hours per day or more | 40 hours per week (or more) |
| Part time jobs | The average is 4 hours per day | Less than 40 hours per week |
Full time employees are statutorily entitled to 5.6 weeks (28 days) of holiday leave a year (this may or may not include bank holidays). So, to work out how much annual holiday a part-time worker is entitled to, you need to multiply the number of days they work a week by 5.6 to get their result.
On average, they work 38 hours per week. Casual employees usually work irregular hours. A casual employee does not have a firm commitment in advance from their employer about how long they will be employed for, or the days or hours they will work. Find information about changing from part-time to casual employment.
Once converted, you can simply multiply employee (time worked * wage) to determine gross pay. For example, if an employee works 8:30 minutes, this is 8.5 hours when converted to decimal, multiply it by their hourly wage; this results in a gross wage amount.
This is less than 38 hours, and usually less than 32 hours. The average part-time worker in Australia works 17 hours each week. Part-time hours vary based on a part-time worker's industry and employer. Some industries have minimum hours for part-time workers.
Unused annual leave and long service leaveAll unused (accrued) annual leave and long service leave paid to an employee upon termination of the employee's services (including a bonus, loading or other additional payment relating to that leave) is subject to payroll tax.
If an employee takes their leave then returns to the same job, they must be paid super on top of their regular salary. Alternatively, if an employee receives their long service leave allowance as a lump sum when they are terminated or resign from their job, they will not be eligible to receive any super.
Payment of pro-rata long service leaveWhen employment ends before an employee has worked the total number of years needed to get the full long service leave entitlement, they can sometimes get paid out part of their long service leave. This is known as pro-rata long service leave.
You must be employed for at least 7 years. Between 7 to 10 years of service, you are entitled to leave on a pro rata basis. Do take note that depending on the reasons for your termination, you may not be able to get payment for this leave. After 10 years of service, you are entitled to 8.33 weeks plus pro rata.
Another advantage of taking leave rather than cashing out as a lump sum is that usually your employer will continue to pay the normal superannuation % on that leave when it is taken as a regular leave payment. This is contrasted to taking the lump sum no super guarantee % is applied to a lump sum of leave paid out.
In NSW and most other Australian states and territories, most casual, part-time, and full-time employees are entitled to Long Service Leave after 10 years of continuous employment. That is, employers may only refuse the allowance of LSL during times when it is reasonably impractical for the business to do so.
Under the above-mentioned Awards, employees are entitled to Long Service Leave after 7 years' continuous service, proportionate to his or her length of service, calculated at the rate of 2 months' paid leave for 10 years' served.
2. When is an employee entitled to Long Service Leave? The Long Service Leave Act 1955 provides full-time, part-time and casual workers in NSW to 2 months (8.6667 weeks) paid long service leave when they have completed a continuous period of ten years service with the same employer.
Do different rules about working for another employer apply if the employee is on long service leave? Employees whose long service leave entitlement is derived from a pre-modern federal award may not be permitted to work for other employers during a period of long service leave.
In NSW, the Long Service Leave Act 1955 (NSW) states that Long Service Leave is paid out on a pro-rata basis if the employee resigns their employment after five (5) years but not less than ten (10) years' continuous service due to illness or incapacity, a domestic or other pressing necessity or their death.
Unconditional liability for long service leave is recognised as a current liability. However, the liability is classified as long-term benefits if it is not expected to be settled wholly before twelve months after the end of the annual reporting period in which the employees render the related service.
When a TFN is provided
| Payment type | Reason | Withholding rates |
|---|
| Long service leave | Termination because of genuine redundancy, invalidity or early retirement scheme | 32% |
| 32% |
| Annual leave | Normal termination (e.g. voluntary resignation, employment terminated due to inefficiency, retirement) | 32% |
| Marginal rates |
Annual leave accumulates when an employee is on: paid leave such as paid annual leave and paid sick and carer's leave. community service leave including jury duty. long service leave.
