casual employment contracts

Hi All,

we currently have employees on casual contracts based on the hourly award wage.
i wanted to know if a daily flat rate is legally ok?
i have received conflicting advice but i recall only recently a recruitment company was contracting me out to a very large company at a daily rate ( no over time)

has anyone had experience with this?
 
My first thought is NO. Casual staff should be paid hourly. Contact a workplace solution compnay (or fairwork australia) and ask the question

Your recruiting company may have been contracting you out at a a daily rate, but you would have been paid hourly?
 
Casual employees get an hourly rate and minimum number of hours ie can't be called in for an hour. Rate is inclusive of sick leave, holidays etc
 
Day rates

Some mining and O&G companies hire employees on day-rates. We had two QA inspectors on day rates on FMG's FT & KG projects.
If you are on day rates, you work as per company's requirements but not more than 12 hours/day.
Thanks
 
Some mining and O&G companies hire employees on day-rates. We had two QA inspectors on day rates on FMG's FT & KG projects.
If you are on day rates, you work as per company's requirements but not more than 12 hours/day.
Thanks

But there is a minimum, one day and paid in one day amounts???

Just like an hourly rate but bigger time unit.
 
The Fair Work Australia website has very good guidance on how to deal with engaging staff. They have some agreements etc that can be used and tailored. All employee engagement must satisfy the Fair Work Act and also other laws such as State Law, Awards etc. Some matters cannot contravene these laws and some can.

A daily flat rate isn't permitted as it contradicts law. ie you aren't permitted to pay someone a fixed rate when the hours exceed the standard 7.6 hour day in some cases. How would you deal with a employee who works a half day ?? Does your rate include the loading expected of a casual that compensates for loss of entitlements or is it merely your way of seeking to avoid such entitlements under the NES ?

Also what do you mean by a casual ?? The FWA definition of a casual employee may differ from yours. If you engage someone 5 days a week they aren't a casual. If they work standard days and say 3 days a wekk they may not be casual. If you engage them for a length of time do you know when they become a P/T employee ??
 
A daily flat rate is fine, if you get them to give you an RCTI with their ABN on it. (Contractor/self employed)

Otherwise an hourly rate based on the award is about the best you can do. (employee)
 
A contractor takes much more than a ABN !!

An employer who says to a person they intend to engage to go get a ABN fails the Fair Work Act. The ATO can and will cancel the ABN or refuse to issue one.
 
Since you mentioned that your employees are paid based on an award rate then the employment conditions as per the award will apply. If the award states that employees can be paid as a day rate then you can legally do that, if it is silent then you will need to refer to the NES.

It is difficult to provide proper advice on this without knowing the industry and relevant award the employees work under. What goes on in the mining industry (day rates) and manufacturing industry (piece rates) are completely different from other industries which have different legalities.

In your case since you said that the employees are casual it would make more sense to pay them hourly either at or above the award rate.

vtt
:D
 
I would love to read an award that permits a daily rate. Never seen one. There are weekly rates etc and all reference to working hours. The implication doesnt contemplate a rate that is per diem. (What is a day? Are you suggesting a employee can work 24 hours by the very nature of this award issue??)

The NES prevail if the employee is engaged by a constitutional corporation.

A Director can incur a criminal charge under the FWA.
 
I would love to read an award that permits a daily rate. Never seen one. There are weekly rates etc and all reference to working hours. The implication doesnt contemplate a rate that is per diem. (What is a day? Are you suggesting a employee can work 24 hours by the very nature of this award issue??)

The NES prevail if the employee is engaged by a constitutional corporation.

A Director can incur a criminal charge under the FWA.

I'm not familiar with all 100+ awards but from memory daily rates are available in Building and Construction - there may also be others.

The NES applies to all employees in NSW (OP is in Sydney, my assumption is that the employees are too).

"On 1 January 2010, private sector NSW employers and workers, previously covered by the NSW state award system (mainly sole traders and partnerships), moved into the national workplace relations system administered by the Fair Work Ombudsman." (Source : NSW Industrial Relations Website)

As per previous post, refer to the Award to determine whether daily rates are available or as others suggested seek further advice from Fair Work, or if unsure after that obtain advice from a lawyer specializing in Employment Law.
 
Hi Benvolio,

Don't know if this helps but i've been on a casual contract(Utilities sector)for the past

6yrs.

First 3yrs i was paid via per job basis and would fall back on the award hourly rate if i

was having a slow day.

Rarely fell back on the hourly rate though as i was doing more jobs:D

Anyhow,3yrs ago they offered me another position on a daily rate,i took it up as it

worked out i was paid more for less time and effort and have had 2 generous increases

since :D

So i'm paid for a certain amount of jobs i do and if i do extra jobs on top,i get paid per

job + bonuses.I also do the odd weekend,which is double my daily rate.

What type of work do your employees do?

Cheers Spades.
 
Both I and my hubby have worked with daily rates at some stage in our careers. Really common in Professional services e.g. IT, Accounting etc. industries
 
Hi Guys, thanks so much for your responses. The role is in the IT industry and its for a level 1 and 2 support role (phone, remote and face to face support).

i cant seem to find a confirmation on govt website and not sure which direction we should take moving forward
 
Hi Guys, thanks so much for your responses. The role is in the IT industry and its for a level 1 and 2 support role (phone, remote and face to face support).

i cant seem to find a confirmation on govt website and not sure which direction we should take moving forward

What sorta hrs does the work involve? Would doing an hourly rate make much difference compared to a daily rate? (Eg if a day is always 8 hrs then...)
 
Currently I'm doing two kind of IT contract jobs. Both are negotiated on a daily rate by the agency. However, I do need to submit a time sheet which counts to 8 hours a day.
I don't know if it is for a audit/admin purpose or it is a regulatory requirement.
 
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