Casual clarification emerges from omnibus breakdown

Despite the fact the majority of industrial reforms proposed by the Government in its Fair Work Amendment (Supporting Australia's Jobs and Economic Recovery) Bill 2020 ("Bill") have been stymied by the Senate, employers should welcome the fact long standing ambiguity surrounding the test for determining who a casual employee is, and what their entitlements are, has largely been resolved.

The Bill, first introduced into Federal Parliament on 9 December 2020, has succeeded in codifying the working arrangements and rights of casual employees by:

• inserting a definition of casual employment into the Fair Work Act for the first time (that draws on established common law principles and focuses on the nature of the offer of employment);