The ACTU has made a claim in the Four Year Modern Award Review to vary Modern Awards including provisions for casual conversion to part-time or permanent employment and increasing the minimum engagement period for casuals. If successful, this will affect all 122 modern awards including the Restaurant Industry Award, Hospitality Industry (General) Award and Fast Food Industry Award.
The proposed changes made by the ACTU and United Voice would significantly affect casual employment conditions, including:
• Casuals would receive overtime for work performed beyond 38 hours;
• Casuals could elect to convert to part-time after six months work; and
• The minimum engagement time for casuals would be increased to 4 hours.
It is important you understand the impact this could potentially have on your business if the ACTU claim is successful. A recent case study of a member business found the conversion to part-time added 10-15% to their labour cost – representing 5% of their profit.
