We have included this section because a large proportion of young people aged 15 to 24 are employed on a casual basis. In our experience, young casual workers are often exploited more than permanent workers, often largely due to casual workers having fewer rights than permanent workers. This section outlines the differences between casual and permanent employment, some statistics about casual employment and the rights of casual workers – because you do have some!

What is the difference between casual and part-time work?

Casual work can be defined as temporary work which does not offer the same employment security as a permanent job. Casual employees generally do not receive the same entitlements as part-time or full-time permanent workers such as paid leave ie holiday, sick, family leave.

Casual workers are often entitled to a 'loading' on top of their rate of pay, which is designed to compensate for missing out on sick leave, holiday pay and other benefits. However there is no guarantee that this will be offered by your employer, particularly if you are employed on an individual contract or Australian Workplace Agreement.

Facts about casual employment

•  Australia has the second highest rate of casual workers in the world with 1 in 4 or 28% of all workers in casual employment.

•  49% of young people aged 15-24 in South Australia are casual workers

•  33% of all women workers in Australia are casual workers

•  Since 1996 all net new jobs created in Australia have been casual

•  59% of workers in cafes, restaurants and accommodation are casual

•  44% of retail workers are casual

•  Less than 3% of casuals have access to any form of paid leave

•  Around 10% of casuals have more than one job

Almost half of all casuals want to work on a full time or part time basis