1 Policy Statement

The University may engage a casual employee without advertising the vacancy or conducting formal selection procedures.

(Approved by Council June 1998)

2 Procedures

2.1 What is casual employment?

A casual employee is engaged and paid on an hourly basis, with a loading to compensate for benefits (such as personal and annual leave) for which a casual employee is not eligible.

2.1.1 Professional employees

A casual professional employee is appointed to work an irregular pattern of hours on an adhoc, intermittent basis. A casual appointment may vary from week to week, and month to month, with possible periods of no employment, up to the full-time equivalent of 72 hours per fortnight.  Employment ceases at the end of the engagement. Casual professional employee salaries are in accordance with Schedule E – Casual Professional Employee Salaries contained in the Enterprise Agreement 2010-2013. 

The minimum period of engagement for casual professional employees is three hours per day, with the exception of those students employed in a Peer Assisted Learning Program and employees within the Residential Colleges which is two hours per day.  In order to meet personal circumstances, a casual professional employee may request a minimum engagement of less than three hours per day where this is suitable for both the employee and the University.  The three hour minimum period of engagement is applicable only once per day, eg if a casual employee works for three hours in the morning, then has a break and works again for one hour in the afternoon (on the same day), the employee is entitled to 4 hours pay only and does not receive the three hour minimum for the second period of work.

2.1.2 Academic employees

A casual academic employee is appointed to work an irregular pattern of hours on an, intermittent basis, up to the full-time equivalent. The hours worked by a casual academic employee may vary from week to week, and month to month, with possible periods of no employment. Employment ceases at the end of the engagement.  Casual academic salaries are in accordance with Schedule B - Casual Academic Salaries contained in the University of Southern Queensland Enterprise Agreement 2010-2013.

Where a casual academic employee is required to undertake work activities from home, the employee may be entitled to receive an allowance to cover the costs of internet usage, as determined by the Faculty/Section.

The circumstances in which academic casual employment will normally be used includes: work of an irregular or intermittent nature; supervision of practical teaching; covering short-term absences; provision of employment opportunities to postgraduate students; or provision of industry or professional experience to teaching programs.

2.2 Appointment process

An appointment to a casual position may be made by the Category 4 Delegate or above without advertising the vacancy or applying the University's selection procedures.  Where one or more persons are considered suitable for an appointment the merit principle will apply. No signature from the Executive Director, Human Resources is necessary. 

To make an appointment, the employing cost centre completes the  casual appointment process and obtains approval from the Category 4 Delegate or above.  The employee is required to accept the appointment and the conditions of employment.  A casual employee will be provided with documentation specifying the duties required to be performed; the number of hours required; the salary to be paid; and a statement that any additional duties required will be remunerated accordingly.

The appropriate appointment form including all required signatures must be completed and forwarded to Human Resources prior to the employee commencing duty.

Irrespective of the source of funding (research grants etc) all appointments will normally be made at step one of the classification level unless authorised by the Category 4 Delegate or above.  The exceptions are casual academic salaries as outlined in Schedule B of the Enterprise Agreement 2010 - 2013.

The completed Casual Employment Payment Claim must be submitted to HR Remuneration and Systems for processing in accordance with normal pay timelines.

The University will pay a casual employee within 22 calendar days of submission to Human Resources of a valid and completed Casual Employment Payment Claim.

2.3 Concurrent appointments

An employee will not normally hold concurrent appointments.  When an employee is required to do additional work (irrespective of whether the work is for another faculty or section) a variation to their terms of engagement will be made. 

The Executive Director, Human Resources will advise the employee, in writing, of the variation to their conditions prior to the additional work being carried out.  Faculties or sections will be required to organise the reimbursement of employment costs where applicable. 

Full-time or fractional employees currently employed on a continuing and fixed term basis may be permitted to undertake additional casual employment as paid work at the University. Additional casual employment may only be undertaken where the work has duties distinct from the substantive position of the incumbent, and provided that the casual employment is not being used as an alternative to any of the following:

• making additional continuing or fractional fixed term appointments;

• paying overtime to existing employees; or

• extending the working hours of fractional employees.

If additional casual work is offered within or outside their faculty or section, the employee must obtain permission from the Category 4 Delegate or above relevant to their substantive role.   Approval is conditional on the additional work not constituting more than a full-time equivalent position in total when combined with the employee's substantive role.  Employees must complete the Request to Undertake Additional Work form stating either: 

1. the additional work will be performed outside the hours specified for their substantive role; or

2. a temporary reduction in appointment fraction has been negotiated with the Category 4 Delegate or above relevant to the employee's substantive role;

and obtain their supervisor's recommendation and approval from the Category 4 Delegate or above relevant to their substantive role.

The employing cost centre must complete the casual appointment process and attach a copy of the approved Request to Undertake Additional Work form. 

Approvals must be obtained prior to the employee commencing duty.

2.4 Employment of close relatives

If the proposed employee is a close relative of the Delegate recommending appointment, the approval of the Delegate's supervisor is required.

2.5 Non-renewal of contracts

Casual employment contracts will not be extended.  Subsequent casual employment requires a new casual employment contract.

Where casual employment is terminated for valid reasons, the University will give the employee one hour's notice.

The employing faculty or section will provide the terminating employee with a separation certificate if requested; and will handle enquiries from government agencies concerning the employee's employment.

2.6 Induction

The employing faculty or section must provide a new employee with an appropriate workplace induction which includes a workplace health and safety component.  This induction programme will cover the necessary components as outlined in the Employee Induction policy.

2.7 Casual and short-term employment pool

Faculties and sections are encouraged to use the Casual and Short-Term Employment Pool administered by Human Resources.  In the event that a suitable candidate is not able to be located from this pool, faculties and sections may contact the University's preferred external employment agency as an alternate supplier of casual staff.

2.8 Records

All documents relating to casual employees will be retained within Human Resources, for the minimum retention period specified in Human Resources Files.

2.9 Conversion - professional employees

Upon appointment, the University will advise a casual professional employee that, after serving qualifying periods as provided below, casual employees may have a right to apply in writing for conversion to non-casual employment. 

A casual professional employee will be eligible to apply for conversion, if they have been employed on a regular or systematic basis in the same or a similar and identically classified position in the same work area for a period of 12 months and worked at least 50% of the full-time equivalent hours; or if they have worked over the immediately preceding period of at least 24 months.

Occasional and/or short-term work performed by the employee in another classification, job or department will not:

• affect the employee's eligibility for conversion;

• be included in determining whether the employee meets or does not meet the eligibility requirements.

The University may refuse an application for conversion on reasonable grounds which include, but are not limited to, the following:

• the employee is a student, or has recently been a student, other than where their status as a student is irrelevant to their engagement and the work required;

• the employee is a genuine retiree;

• the employee is performing work which will either cease to be required or will be performed by a non-casual employee, within 26 weeks (from the date of application);

• the employee has a primary occupation with the University or elsewhere;

• the employee does not meet the essential requirements of the position; or

• the work is ad hoc, intermittent, unpredictable or involves hours that are irregular.

In relation to the last dot point above, whether there are reasonable grounds to refuse conversion will depend upon the entirety of the circumstances in the particular case.   However, as general propositions, employees who work a limited number of weeks each year, even if those weeks are regular (including persons such as exam invigilators and persons employed to assist in enrolment periods), will be seen as working on an "intermittent" basis and could be refused conversion.  Conversely, an employee who works from March to November each year, and who does not work for example on weekends, during semester breaks and over the long vacation, would not be considered "intermittent" for the purpose of the clause". 

The University must determine an application for conversion either by offering conversion to non-casual employment or by rejecting the application.  If the University rejects the application, it must provide written reasons for rejecting it.  If the application is accepted, the employee will be offered a non-casual position.

Conversion may be to either a continuing appointment or to a fixed term appointment.  The offer of conversion will indicate the hours and pattern of work which, subject to due consideration of the employer's operational requirements and the desirability of offering the employee work which is as regular and continuous as is reasonably practicable, will be consistent with the employee's casual engagement. 

Conversion may be, but is not required to be, to full-time, sessional, fractional, term or annualised hours employment.  Conversion of a casual employee to any of these modes of employment may occur where by custom and practice the work has been performed by casual employees on such a basis, or otherwise by agreement between the University and, where requested by an employee, their nominated representative.

Employees converted under these arrangements will not have their casual service count as service for the purpose of calculating any other existing entitlements except for:

• Long service leave, if, at the time of conversion, the University provides casual employees with an entitlement to long service leave.  In such a case casual service with the University would count for the purposes of any qualifying period for long service leave; and

• Any applicable parental leave.

An employee whose application for conversion is rejected will not be entitled to apply again within 12 months, except where that rejection is solely based upon the ground set out in the reasonable grounds for approval above and that ground ceased to apply.

Any dispute arising out of the application of this process shall be dealt with in accordance with the dispute procedures set out in the Enterprise Agreement 2010 - 2013.

3 Other Policy Information