Your pay entitlements

All casual workers are paid 25% more than the minimum Award wage for permanent employees. This is because you don’t have the same level of job security, and you also don’t receive benefits like paid leave.

Casual workers also get paid overtime and penalty rates:

• Overtime (0-3 hours): 175%
• Overtime (3+ hours): 225%
• Saturday: 133%
• Sunday: 200%
• Working on RDO: 200%
• Public holidays: 250%

You are also eligible for:

• $8.99 per week in tool allowance
• $11.21 per week in first aid allowance – if you are qualified in first-aid and appointed to perform it at work.

Your leave entitlements

While you’re not entitled to paid annual or service leave, casual workers are still eligible for:

Unpaid sick leave

You can take up to 3 months of unpaid sick leave in a calendar year, and have your job on hold for when you’re well enough to come back to work.

Compassionate leave

If a close family member suffers a lifethreatening illness or injury, you’re entitled to two days’ paid leave. These family members include:

• Spouse/former spouse, or de facto partner/former partner
• Child
• Grandchild
• Parent
• Grandparent
• Your spouse or de factor partner’s (or former spouse or partner’s) child, grandchild, parent or grandparent.

There is no 12-month limit on compassionate leave, meaning it applies if multiple members of your immediate family die, or have a life-threatening illness or injury within the span of a year. Your leave is paid at your base hourly rate, and you don’t receive weekend or overtime penalty rates, or shift allowances.

Domestic Violence leave

You are entitled to 5 days of unpaid domestic violence leave every 12 months. This does not roll over year to year, but you are entitled to a full 5 days as soon as you start work.

This leave is to give you the time to do things that you can’t otherwise fit into your schedule, like relocating or making safety arrangements for yourself or your family, attending court, or accessing police services.

Your employer may ask for evidence, like documents from police or court services or a medical certificate, but they are required to keep everything strictly confidential.

Converting to a permanent worker

We know that casual work isn’t for everyone. If you’re wanting more stability and security, then you may be able to convert to a permanent worker, either part-time or full-time depending on your hours.

There’s a few criteria you need to meet:

• You need to work at one salon for 12 months with a stable roster on an ongoing basis.
• If you convert to permanent (full-time or part-time) it won’t make a big change to your roster.
• You need to put your request to be converted to permanent in writing and send it to your employer.

Your employer may refuse to convert you because:

• Going permanent would be a big change to your roster.
• It’s either confirmed or very likely that your position will no longer exist in 12 months.
• It’s either confirmed or very likely your hours will be significantly reduced in the next 12 months.
• It’s either confirmed or very likely there will be a significant change to the days or times you work in the next 12 months, that won’t work with your existing schedule.

If your employer refuses to convert you over, they must provide their reasoning in writing within 21 days of your first application. If you don’t accept their reasoning (for example, you know your schedule can accommodate these changes, or it’s not likely the business will make your role obsolete), then you can lodge a dispute with the Fair Work Commission. ‘

If you’re a casual worker looking to become permanent, we recommend you get in touch with us straight away, and we can help you put together your application.