What is
Fixed Term/Temporary or Casual Employment? | ||
The
general definition is that of “employment that is not permanent”. Under
the Collective Employment Agreement, the definitions are
A Casual
team member may be on the books for a while but is called in on an irregular
basis to cover vacancies or sudden work surges. A casual should not be
rostered on a regular basis. If you
are not sure, contact the Ask People
Support team on 09 215 5057, extension 27577 | ||
Why is
it important to get Fixed Term/Temporary/Casual Employment right? | ||
By law
and in our business, there are processes that need to be followed when
employing someone on a fixed term basis - and consequences for the business
and the team member for not following those processes. It is also fair to the
team members that they have all the information regarding their employment at
the start. | ||
WHAT | DOCUMENTS | |
1 | By law you must have
a genuine business reason for employing a team member on a fixed term or
temporary basis and this must be stated in writing in their Employment
Agreement. Reasons
could be to cover a vacancy due to a parental leave or long term illness, to
cover a seasonal increase in business such as Christmas or to work on a
specific project or to cover a period if a new store is opening nearby or a
competitor closes temporarily | Further
information can be found on Knowledge Base. |
2 | What you need to do
when employing a fixed term or temporary team member. The team
member must be issued a Letter of Employment via DocuSign stating the reason
for the fixed term or temporary employment and the dates of the employment This
must be given before the team member starts work. A consequence of not giving
this employment agreement could lead to the team member claiming permanent
employment and a monetary fine for TWL Fixed
term and casual team members are covered by the Collective Agreement if they
join the First Union There
are separate Letters of Appointment for Fixed term re Parental Leave and
Christmas Temps | Employment
Agreements can be generated on DocuSign |
3 | What should I write
in the Letter of Appointment as to the reason? You must
select one of the available reasons in DocuSign | Employment
Agreements can be generated on DocuSign |
4 | What if I don’t know
the exact date the fixed term employment will end? You have to advise
the team member of when and how the employment will end and the reasons for
the employment ending in that way. If the exact date is not known e.g.
because the person is working on a project, you must include in the
employment agreement the event or reason that will bring the employment to an
end | Further
information can be found on Knowledge Base. |
5 | What do I do if I
need to extend the fixed term agreement? First
ask yourself: Does the business reason for the temporary employment still
exist? If it does, then you must give the team member another Temporary
Employment Agreement to sign BEFORE the old one expires. There must still be
a reason for the fixed term employment in every agreement whether an
extension or not. If the business reason does not exist, you cannot extend
the fixed term employment and it must come to an end. However, if there is a
different valid business reason, you can still extend the fixed term
employment. For example, if Christmas
comes to an end but you still have the need for some Temps to cover stocktake
in January. You must
give the team member another Fixed Term Employment Agreement to sign BEFORE
the old one expires including the new reason for the fixed term employment in
the agreement. | Further
information can be found on Knowledge Base. |
6 | What happens if I
don’t put the reason in any extension or new fixed term agreement? You have broken the
law -
Employment Relations Act - and not followed our own TWL employment process A
consequence of not putting this could lead to the team member claiming
permanent employment and a monetary fine for TWL. | Further
information can be found on Knowledge Base. |
7 | How often can I roll
over a fixed term employment period? There is
no time frame set by law. There must still be an underlying valid business
reason for the employment However,
constantly rolling over the employment does raise the risk of a challenge to
the validity of the business reason(s) and of the team member being deemed a
permanent by law | Further
information can be found on Knowledge Base. |
8 | How will a team
member view fixed term or a rollover? You must
be careful not to raise what is called “legitimate expectation” i.e. although
the employment is temporary the team member has been told by “someone” or
management that there will be a permanent role at the end of it. Even if you
use words like “probably” or “might” you can still raise legitimate
expectation | Further
information can be found on Knowledge Base. |
9 | What hours can a
fixed term or temporary team member work per week or per employment period? There
are no minimum or maximum hours for fixed term or temporary team members.
They are employed for whatever weekly hours are agreed for the period of the
employment. This could be full time or part time and they can be rostered
during that period | Further
information can be found on Knowledge Base. |
10 | What information do
I need provide to the team member advising them that their fixed term
employment agreement is about to come to an end? You need
to send the team member a letter reminding them that their fixed term
employment agreement is about to end. This letter needs to be sent at least
TWO weeks before their employment agreement expires | Employment
Agreements can be generated on Docusign |
11 | What hours can a
casual team member work per week or per employment period? There
are no minimum or maximum hours for casual team members. They are employed on
an “as-required” basis and should not be rostered on a regular basis. They
may be employed for one day or three weeks or more. Each period of employment should be separate
and there must be contact with the casual team member to ask if she or he is
able to work on each occasion. A casual is not obliged to work and may turn
down a request to work just as we are not obliged to offer any work | Further
information can be found on Knowledge Base. |
12 | What happens to
casuals who we want to work extra hours over Christmas? If you
want a casual to working extra hours on a fixed, rostered basis over
Christmas you should, by agreement, change their status to fixed term or temporary
for the Christmas period You will
need to complete a Change of Details in MyPay and complete a Fixed Term
contract in DocuSign | Change
in Details on MyPay |
13 | How does holiday pay
apply for a fixed term, Christmas temp and casual team member? Christmas
Temps: are paid 8% on an as-you-go basis. Fixed term agreement: team member holiday pay is paid at the end of
the fixed Term agreement. Casual team
member: is paid 8% on an as-you-go basis | Further
information can be found on Knowledge Base. |
14 | Does Casual
employment count towards long service with company? No, it
doesn’t. Temporary or Fixed Term does e.g. a Christmas temp who moves straight
onto permanent employment | Further
information can be found on Knowledge Base. |
15 | What if I want to
keep one of my Christmas temps on the books as a Casual because they are a
good worker? If you
have a genuine need for an extra casual then, by agreement, you can move the
Temp to Casual. However, you should not do this just to keep them on the
books e.g. the team member is moving to another city and there are no
vacancies at The Warehouse in their new town. Or the Temp was a university
student who has gone back to University and who you hope will come back next
year during the holidays. If you do this, they are still accruing service
entitlements. Note: any permanent placements must be approved (in advance) by
your Regional Manager. | Further
information can be found on Knowledge Base. |
16 | Why can’t I just
keep them on the books? This
creates a false record of our headcount. Also, team members move through the
wage scale based on service and this includes Casuals and Temps. You are
creating more work by for yourself by keeping people on the books who are not
working at all. | Further
information can be found on Knowledge Base. |
17 | If I have extra
hours should I give them to a Casual? Where
ever practicable any extra hours (either permanent or not) should be offered
to permanent team in the first instance. Only call in a casual when you do
not have any one permanent who can cover the extra hours required. | Further
information can be found on Knowledge Base. |