Casual Conversion Letter
- August 31, 2021
The Template
Dear [Team/Employee Name],
I am writing to you about your employment with [Company Name].
As of [Today’s Date], you have been employed on a regular and systematic basis for 6 months.
In accordance with the [Relevant Modern Award] you have the right to elect to convert your employment status from casual to full-time. Please find a copy of the relevant clause attached to this letter.
If you elect to convert, your updated employment status will be approved unless it is unreasonable for the business to do so. We will respond to your request within 4 weeks.
As a permanent employee, you may receive a lower hourly rate of pay than a casual employee, as you will not receive a casual loading. However, you will be entitled to various additional conditions of employment including paid annual and personal leave.
Please reply in writing with your decision by [4 weeks from current date].
If you don’t respond within 4 weeks of receiving this letter, you’ll be deemed to have elected not to convert your employment status.
You may seek information about minimum terms and conditions of employment from the Fair Work Ombudsman. If you wish to contact them you can call 13 13 94 or visit their website at www.fairwork.gov.au.
Regards,
[Manager Name]
About this Template
As of 27 March 2021, the Australian Government introduced amendments to the Fair Work Act relating to casual employment. The most notable change came to the National Employment Standards (NES), where new minimum entitlements were introduced for casual employees.
The entitlement grants casual employees the ability to request casual conversion and become permanent full-time or part-time employees if they are working regular patterns of work. Employers are also required to make the offer of casual conversion under the same working circumstances. The requirement for offering or processing requests for casual conversion comes from the NES, not the relevant modern award or agreement the staff member may be paid under.
The Fair Work Commission is reviewing casual conversion clauses in modern awards and is likely to remove them.
About Casual Conversions
When do employers need to make an offer of casual conversion?
Employers, excluding small business employers, need to make a written offer to convert their casual employee to permanent employment within 21 days after the employee’s 12-month anniversary, if the employee meets the following criteria.
- The employee has been employed by the employer for 12 months.
- The employee has worked a regular pattern of hours on an ongoing basis for at least the last 6 months.
- The employee could continue working these hours as a full-time or part-time employee without significant changes.
The only exception to making an offer to an employee who meets these criteria is if there are reasonable grounds to not make the offer.
The offer of casual conversion needs to be an offer for the employee to convert to full-time employment if the employee’s hours worked for at least the last 6 months have been the same as full-time hours.
If the employee’s hours worked for at least the last 6 months have been less than full-time hours, they can be offered part-time employment consistent with the employee’s regular pattern of hours worked for at least the last 6 months.
A written offer can be made using the above casual conversion letter template.
Identifying regular patterns of work
Regular casual employees pose the highest likelihood of qualifying for casual conversion. Reviewing and reporting on worked shifts is the only way to assess whether or not a casual employee is working regular patterns of work. Workforce management software such as Tanda is able to automatically check timesheets and identify these patterns for employers, enabling them to review schedules or make offers of casual conversion quickly and compliantly.
