Types of employment

 Full-time and part-time employees

 Casual employees
 Fixed term and contract
 Apprentices and trainees
 Commission and piece rate employees

There are a number of ways you can employ staff and it’s important that
you understand the correct wage and leave entitlements for each
arrangement. Check your obligations by contacting Wageline or the Fair
Work Ombudsman.

Full-time and part-time employees

Full-time employees work on a regular basis for an average of 38 hours per
week. An employee’s actual hours of work are agreed between the
employer and the employee, and/ or are set by an award or registered
agreement.

Full-time employees are entitled to the following leave:

 annual, personal, sick, and carers;

 bereavement or compassionate;
 parental; and
 long service

They are also entitled to public holiday pay if the holiday falls on a day they
would usually work.

Part-time employees usually work less than 38 hours per week and
generally have regular hours. They receive the same wages and conditions
as full-time employees on a proportionate or pro-rata basis, according to
the hours they work.

Casual employees
Casual employees are engaged on an irregular basis according to business
demands and have:

 no expectation of ongoing work;

 no obligation to accept offers of work;
 a loading paid on top of their hourly rate of pay;
 no sick or annual leave pay; and
 no obligation to provide notice of ending their employment, unless
this is a requirement of an award, employment contract or registered
agreement.

In some circumstances, casual employees may be eligible for long service

leave and parental leave after being employed for 12 months

Fixed term and contract employees

You can employ someone on a fixed term or contract basis for an agreed
length of time or to perform a specific task; to work on a particular project or
to replace an employee on leave, for example.

Fixed term employees can work full or part-time and are entitled to the
same leave entitlements as permanent staff but on a pro-rata basis,
depending on the length of employment

TIP: Negotiate the length of employment before the employee starts

working and include this in a written agreement.

Apprentices and trainees

Apprentices and trainees may be suitable for your business. They are
working towards a nationally recognised qualification and must be formally
registered, usually through a contract between a registered training
provider, the employee and you.

You must pay apprentices and trainees according to their award or

registered agreement.
For more information contact your local Apprenticeship Network provider

TIP: You are not required to pay payroll tax on the wages of registered
apprentices and trainees during their training contract.

Commission and piece rate employees

You can pay piece rates or commission payments to employees in certain
circumstances. This means that you pay them based on the results they
achieve instead an hourly or weekly pay rate. You may employ people in
this arrangement if:

 their award or agreement allows for it; or

 they are award and agreement free.

Requirements vary for this arrangement depending on which industrial

relations system you belong to. It is advisable to seek assistance
from Wageline or the Fair Work Ombudsman before entering into this
arrangement.