Getting high demands in a business is a prevalent scenario in the professional world. But, sometimes, it could become a hassle if you do not have enough workforce. In that case, casual workers would suit best for you. If you are looking for information on the employment of a casual worker, you are at the proper palace. So, without further ado, let’s get right into it;
Casual workers are part of a workforce hired to meet a business’s demands. They are not permanent employees and offer flexible services, unlike permanent employees. Officially there is no such term as a casual worker, but in the industry, it is used for workers not having a fixed number of work hours.
Further in this article, you will acquire all the information you need to hire a casual worker as an HR representative. So, make sure to stick around till the end to understand everything related to the employment of a casual worker.
Casual Labour
The workers who fall under casual labour are the ones who are independent workers, like self-employed or private workers. As stated before, casual workers are hired in situations where the already-hired workforce cannot keep up with the demands.
Workers categorised under casual labour are available for flexible services and can make up for the demand in the market. These kinds of workers do not have a fixed work hours range, nor do they have guaranteed permanent employment. In most cases, they are relieved once the work has been finished or the demand dies out. That pretty much covers the casual labour as a whole.
Check out: Work in the UK
Casual Worker Rights UK
While hiring a casual worker, you need to keep in mind that certain rights have to be upheld to avoid any trouble later in the future. Specifically talking about the United Kingdom, the following are some basic rights of a casual worker
1. Being On Company Payroll:
The most basic right of a casual worker that needs to be fulfilled by the hiring company is to keep that casual worker on the company’s payroll whether they have worked for a shorter period or a longer tenure.
If any company or business owners fail to do so, then they can face penalties from the authorities like National Insurance Contributions, etc. The casual worker could even sue the company executives if they feel it is necessary. So, whether they are hired for a half week time or months, they need to be on the payroll.
2. Entitlement To Holiday Pay:
According to the rules regarding casual workers in an industry, the employer has to entitle a casual worker to holiday pay. This holiday pay varies from worker to worker because it is calculated as a proportion of the number of hours a worker works a week and what entitlement there is for them in a year.
Sometimes, this pay could be high due to the higher number of work hours and that hourly pay and sometimes lower due to the same reason. It could also depend on the workers’ 5.6 weeks statutory holiday entitlement. So, do keep that in mind.
3. Some Protection From Unfair Dismissal:
Casual workers can not file a claim for unfair dismissal if they have been dismissed because their services are no longer required. But, in some scenarios, a casual worker could be terminated on discrimination grounds. If this is the case, then a claim of unfair dismissal can be filed.
This is all under the Equality Act 2010 of the United Kingdom. A claim for unfair dismissal can also be valid if there has been some misuse of authority of any kind by the employer and the worker got terminated. Do bear that in mind while terminating a casual worker.
4. Entitlement To Basic Employee Rights:
Casual workers have basic employment rights that have to be fulfilled by the employer. These rights include entitlement to minimum wage, rest breaks, weekly maximum work hours, sick pay, protection for whistleblowing, equal treatment, etc.
The minimum wage is set by the national authorities overseeing the industry. As for the maximum weekly work hours, casual workers are eligible to not work for more than 48 hours a week. They are entitled to protection if they report any kind of misbehaviour by the employer and if they are in the wrong.
5. Family Benefits:
The casual workers have an entitlement to receive benefits regarding their family affairs. These could include paid leaves for family emergencies, redundancy pays, etc. In case you are a parent, you can also take parental leaves to attend to your child. These are one of the rights that casual workers have an entitlement to.
If the employer fails to entertain any requests on such grounds, they are technically violating the rules set by the authorities and can face severe punishments. So, employers must provide casual workers with such benefits.
6. Support For Casual Workers:
Another one of the rights of casual workers is that the employer needs to support them in some circumstances. The support could include providing opportunities to the worker for improvement, treating casual workers flexibly, unlike permanent employees, etc.
These rights are granted to casual workers because as they are working for an employer in a flexible area, they have to be taken care of and have to be kept stress free to balance the workforce. Keeping all this aside, it is just ethical to support a fellow human being.
Casual Worker Minimum Shift
A casual worker is an employee who is not necessarily entitled to a minimum shift. As they are working on flexible services and hours, a minimum shift can not be determined for them on such grounds, but in the modern industrial era, the minimum work hour a day could be about two to three hours.
Nonetheless, casual workers do not have a limit to minimum shifts, but as for the maximum one, they do have a right to refuse to work for more than 48 hours a week. But, if they do not want to practice that right, they can work as much as they want at the request of their employer.
Termination of Casual Worker
Termination of a casual worker is more or less like the termination of a permanent employee. Here the employer has to send a termination notice, just like a permanent employee. Also, the employer has to state and describe the reason for the termination of a casual worker.
The employer has to give a fair and square chance to the casual worker to defend himself because the termination could be unfair. If the worker proves the reasons for termination to be wrong, then the employer has to continue the employment status of the casual worker.
These measures are taken to make sure that the termination was not discriminatory and was not on personal grounds. In some cases, casual workers can also get entitled to redundancy pay as make-up. So, do remember to conduct thorough research before terminating the contract of a casual worker.
Casual Worker Income and Its Declaration
Casual work is a type of business portrayed by its adaptability, transient nature, and unusualness. Workers are normally recruited dependent on the situation. As for the pay, if the pay is not declared correctly, it could lead to severe consequences.
Casual Workers may frequently be paid in real money, which can make an impulse to pay less or not report it by any means. Nonetheless, failing to declare pay can bring serious outcomes like fines, punishments, and lawful activity.
Casual workers should comprehend their commitments concerning declaring income. This might include keeping up with precise records of profit, costs, and receipts and showing pay on government forms. There might be various standards and guidelines with respect to the declaration of pay gotten through casual work.
One option for casual workers is to talk with an accountant bookkeeper, who can offer services on the best way to report pay and consent to relevant regulations and guidelines accurately. Eventually, being honest and straightforward about pay acquired through casual work can assist with expected lawful and monetary issues. That’s all in this regarded topic.
What are the duties of a casual worker?
The most common duties of a casual worker may include answering telephone calls, cleaning up, delivering or receiving mail, etc. These are common casual worker duties, but they could vary depending on the demands of the company. Whatever the duty may be, they are not techy or high level for a casual worker. Such kinds of duties are only for permanent employees.
Future Of Casual Work
As the world advances in every technological field, casual work is becoming popular among businesses as well. As the work gets booming, some changes to the laws are expected as well, which could lead to more freedom and autonomy for casual workers.
There have been many consultations with the authorities on the topic of keeping the abuse of the services of the casual workforce and the increasing popularity of this work in mind. All of these consultations give rights to casual workers that would surely keep the employers from using their authority in the wrong way.
In the field of casual work, one trend will surely get more popularity and boom as compared to others, and that is the short gig trend. Through this, casual workers will be able to land short-termed jobs, which would also lead to a gig-based economy in the near future.
Conclusion
Casual workers can come in pretty handy to make up for the workforce in a company. While hiring them, you do need to keep a certain set of rules and their rights in view. Hiring casual workers has its own benefits and pitfalls as well. But, you need to always be positive and see that the benefits are much more than the disadvantages.
You can utilise the casual workforce to get the low-priority but necessary work. Also, you do not have to fend for the casual workers as much as you have to for permanent employees. So, that is a plus point as well.
In the end, you should be just and provide equal opportunities to both permanent and casual employees. If you still have any questions regarding the topic, please reach out to me without any hesitation.
Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)
No, it is not necessary for a casual employee to give the notice to end their employment. The opposite goes for the employer. If they are terminating the casual worker, they need to give proper notice before ending their employment. These are the rules set by the government; if not followed, they could lead to severe circumstances for either party involved.
A long-term casual employee refers to a casual worker that has been working for the same employer for more than a year on a regular basis. There are some benefits that a long-term casual worker can reap from the employer.
These may include paid leaves for longer periods, etc. Such employees can also request permanent employment because they have worked for a long time on a regular basis. And most of the time, the request gets accepted.
As an employer, if you are terminating a casual employee, it is necessary for you to give notice to the casual worker beforehand, and by law, you have to describe the reasons for the termination as well.
Also, it is necessary for you to give a fair chance to the casual worker to defend their case. If they are successful, you cannot terminate that employee using the same reasons at the same time and you have to continue their employment. Such are the conditions if you want to terminate a casual worker.
