Letter to Employee – Casual Conversion

On 27 March 2021, changes were made to the Fair Work Act relating to casual employment. This template letter of casual conversion to be used when converting a casual employee to a permanent (part-time or full-time employee.

Definition of a casual employee

The FW Act has been amended to include a new definition of a casual employee.

A person is a casual employee if they accept a job offer from an employer knowing that there is no firm advance commitment to ongoing work with an agreed pattern of work.

Once employed as a casual, an employee will continue to be a casual employee until:

• they become a permanent employee through:
  • casual conversion, or
  • being offered and accepting full-time or part-time employment, or
• they stop being employed by the employer.

Becoming a permanent employee

The National Employment Standards now include an entitlement for casual employees to become full-time or part-time (permanent) in some circumstances. This is also known as 'casual conversion'.

Casual employees can become permanent by their employer offering casual conversion or by making a request to their employer for casual conversion. There are eligibility requirements and exceptions that apply and processes that need to be followed.

However, small business employers don’t need to offer casual conversion to their casual employees. Different rules also apply for offers of casual conversion to existing casuals employed immediately before 27 March 2021 who aren’t employed by a small business.

Summary of changes:

• The introduction of a Casual Employment Information Statement
• A new definition of casual employment
• New minimum entitlements under the National Employment Standards (NES) for casual employees to be offered or request to become a permanent full-time or part-time employee in some circumstances.

Key points:

• A casual employee can change to full-time or part-time employment at any time if the employer and employee both agree to it.
• Modern Awards also usually deal with casual employment and include a process for casuals to convert to permanent employment in some circumstances. Check your Modern Award for further information.
• The Fair Work Commission is currently reviewing how award terms interact with the new definition of casual employment and the new rights under the National Employment Standards about casual conversion to permanent employment, and the review may result in changes to awards.
• Some awards require employers to notify a casual employee that they can elect to covert to full-time or part-time employment after a set period (usually 6 to 12 months of regular and systematic employment).
• This template will help you prepare a letter to notify your employees that they can elect to convert their casual employment to full-time or part-time employment.
• The template letter is in word format and can be tailored specifically for your business. You will be able to save and edit your letter at any time.

What to include in the letter?

• Before you begin: Check the casual clause of your Modern Award before using this template.
• To prepare the letter you’ll need to know which award applies to the employee
• You will need to check the Modern Award for the minimum employment period stated in the award and the date on which the employee reached it
• You will need to insert what type of employment (full-time, or part-time) you are offering to the employee

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