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What’s the difference between a casual employee and a contractor?
9 February 2023
You have a specific project which needs to be completed or you don’t know how many hours you are going to need to fulfil your current workload, you know you need to bring a new person in to help get things done but should they be a casual or a contractor? What’s the difference?
This is a tricky question, and it is sometimes hard to tell what is the best course of action. A snapshot of the differences follows but if you need more specific advice, please give us a call on 1300 474 672, or send us an email.
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Casual employees |
Contractors |
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Are employees |
Not an employee |
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Sign a casual employment agreement |
Signs a contractor agreement and statement of works |
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Paid an hourly rate |
Generally, use their own tools and equipment to complete the work |
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Not guaranteed hours of work however awards require minimum hours per shift |
Unless agreed, generally the contractor completes the work themselves |
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Can work regular or irregular hours |
May be paid an hourly, weekly or monthly rate or set amount for completion of work |
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Have no entitlement to paid annual or personal leave |
Used for a project or a set period |
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Can access 2 days unpaid carers leave & 2 days compassionate leave |
Superannuation may be payable – for more information check out this blog |
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Can access unpaid community service leave, family & domestic violence leave & public holidays |
Are treated in the same way as an employee expect they have a fixed start and finish date |
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Can end employment without notice and have their employment ended without notice |
End date in the contract agreement may be extended or may end on that date / completion of the work |
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Are paid a casual loading on top of their hourly rate |
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Superannuation is payable on earnings over $450 per month |
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Casuals who work regularly for 6 months may request or require an offer of transition to permanent employment |
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