In the WA state industrial relations system, casual employment is a working arrangement for those employees who work on an irregular basis with no guarantee of ongoing employment.
Casual employees are entitled to:
- paid bereavement leave,
- paid and unpaid family and domestic violence leave, and
- unpaid personal leave for caring purposes.
- unpaid parental leave if they have been employed for at least 12 months and have a reasonable expectation of continuing engagement by the employer on a regular and systematic basis
- paid long service leave if they have the required period of continuous service.
Casual employees are not entitled to paid personal and annual leave.
Casual loading
A casual employee is paid a casual loading.
From 31 January 2025, the minimum casual loading applied to the state minimum wage rate is 25%. The minimum rates of pay for casuals who are not covered by a WA award are on Minimum pay rates for award free employees.
From 26 April 2025, the casual loading for all WA private sector and local government awards is 25%. Pay rates for casual employees under many private sector WA awards that did not previously have a 25% casual loading increased on this date. More information is available at Increase to casual pay rates for many WA awards.
WA award provisions for casual employees
Many WA awards require employers to pay penalty rates (higher pay rates) for casuals working at particular times, and may specify a minimum number of hours in a shift a casual employee can work, as well as restrict how long an employee can be employed as a casual.
Determining whether an employee is a casual employee
There is an objective test set out in the Industrial Relations Act 1979 for determining whether an employee is a casual employee.
The objective test also applies for the purposes of the Minimum Conditions of Employment Act 1993 and the Long Service Leave Act 1958.
The objective test requires that a determination of whether an employee is a casual employee is based on the real substance, practical reality and true nature of the relationship between the employee and the employer.
Consideration must be given to the totality of the relationship between the employer and employee, including the terms of any contract governing the relationship and also other relevant factors, including how the contract is performed in practice.
The objective test safeguards against workers being artificially labelled as casual employees by the terms of a contract.
