A battle is brewing about casual employment

Casual employees are on the rise in Australia and there are many reasons for this shift.

Primarily it’s the convenience and flexibility it offers Small Business owners.

When you pay an employee casual hourly rates, you don’t have to worry about sick pay, annual leave or overtime, which makes processing payroll much easier.

There is a battle brewing 

About 20% of employees in Australia are casual, and the Australian Manufacturing Workers Union is one body pushing for casuals to be made permanent after being employed for a six month period.

This battle is not new, unions have been pushing this one since 2014.

The effects of moving to make part time workers into permanent will have an enormous impact on our economy, employers and employees.

As such, this debate is not only animated, it’s not over!

Costly and thoughtless

Employers have told the unions that their bid is not just thoughtless, but costly with a review of over 122 modern awards since March of this year.

The Australian Chamber of Commerce and Industry warned that any change could risk 19,000 jobs and deplete $3.7 billion a year from our economy.

What’s all the fuss about anyway?

While university students work as a casual so that they can fit making money around study, there are others who are expected to work eight hours a day, week in and week out.

The statistics state that almost 90% of the time, when a casual worker approaches their employer to be made a permanent full-time, this request is rejected.

Why? The employers understandably like the flexibility and control that having a worker casual gives them.

Should a contract be lost, cash flow restrictions tighten, the market change or any other issue, it’s easier to dismiss a casual worker than it is a full-time permanent.

The other debate is to life the minimum of two hours to four, which would have a negative impact on the hospitality industry, as we all know that the hours of 11am – 1pm are their busiest time period, having to employ a casual staff member for four hours might mean less shifts and jobs across the board in this industry.

Employment Security is a dinosaur

While I understand that many casual staff would like to have more security with employment, I believe the days of working for a firm and being given a gold watch are dead.

Financial security can no longer be found with going to university, securing a good job and then enjoying retirement.

This analogy of a life cycle is a dinosaur, the sooner we accept it, the sooner we will take responsibility for our own financial security.

Success can only be secured through our own mindset and innovation

Employees need to accept the reality that they need to make themselves more attractive to be employed.

This could mean embracing the need to seek ongoing education and learn new skills throughout your employed life.

Ensuring you have a positive mindset, develop a self starter disposition and ensure that you are an asset to whoever employs you.

If employment is not something you enjoy, discover what you are passionate about and start taking the responsibility of earning an income as a sole trader or buy a franchise.

Reference Material

http://www.theaustralian.com.au/national-affairs/industrial-relations/casuals-push-by-unions-risks-massive-job-losses/news-story/140fbdfc7fc2e2e437d36992fa0027cf

http://www.smh.com.au/business/workplace-relations/battle-begins-over-demands-to-make-casual-workers-permanent-20160314-gnie0p.html

Amanda Hoffmann

Amanda Hoffmann is a registered Tax Practitioner / BAS Agent No.18613005, Associate of Finance, Xero, Myob & Quickbooks Proadvisor / Trainer and a Consultant for the Australian Taxation Office.

She says she is more than just a bookkeeper with experience in real estate investing, social media, podcasting, blogging and recently recording monthly youtube episodes

Amanda loves to teach smart, easy online cloud solutions and fix messy bookkeeping. Follow her on social media and say “Hi”