Employment Status

In today's workplace many employers try to rip off their employees by changing your employment status, its important that workers are aware of what their employment status is and what that entails.

Permanent

Most employees are employed as Permanent Workers. Permanent Workers enjoy the full benefits of the law regarding employment conditions such as Annual Leave, Sick Leave, Long Service Leave, Unfair Dismissal Laws etc. This does not apply to workers who have signed Australian Workplace Agreements.

Part Time

Part Time workers are employed permanently on a part time basis. Most of their entitlements are the same as permanent workers however they would be on a pro-rata basis. An example is as follows:

Worker A is employed as a permanent employee by ACME industries. Worker A is classifed as a Level 1 under the General Industry Award that entitlements him to a salary of $35,000 per year, four weeks annual leave and five days sick leave. Under that Award 38 hours per week is the ordinary hours of work.

Worker B is employed as a part time employee by ACME industries working 19 hours per week. Worker B is classifed as a Level 1 under the General Industry Award that entitlements him to a salary of $17,500 per year, two weeks annual leave and two and a half days sick leave. Under that Award 38 hours per week is the ordinary hours of work.

Part Time workers, like permanent workers are fully protected by unfair dissmissal laws.

Casual

Casual workers are meant to be employed on a temporary basis, however many employers use casual employees as a way of avoiding their obligations to employees such as Annual Leave and Sick Leave.

As a casual however, you do have some protection from unfair dismissal if you can demonstrate that you had an expectation of ongoing employment. You may also have an entitlement to long service leave.

Fixed Term

In recent times a trend has emerged where workers are asked to sign 'fixed term' employment contracts. Often these are permanent workers who are asked to re-negotiate' their pay and conditions.

There are a number of problems with this option which people should be aware of:

• Fixed term employees are excluded from unfair dismissal protection

• Unless specifically stated otherwise, fixed termers do not accrue long service leave

• Fixed termers lose their rights to redundancy

• Fixed terms do not have any right to ongoing employment after the expiry of the 'fixed term'.

The AWU advises against signing fixed term contracts as they are usually used to avoid worker entitlements and make it easier for the employer to dismiss a worker at their discretion. If you are approached about this type of option contact your organiser or the Union Office immediately.