The High Court has provided business much needed certainty when
determining the nature of its relationship with its employees in a
critical decision explaining the meaning of casual employment.
So how does a business know if its employee is actually a casual
or permanent employee? The High Court has upheld the primacy of the
contractual terms of a bargain between the parties as to their
rights and obligations, explicitly rejecting the characterisation
of casual employment by a 'vibe' of unspoken undertakings,
contemplations and expectations. In the words of the High
Court:
Nothing in the [Fair Work Act]
within which the employment relationship in the present case has
been established relevantly inhibits the freedom of parties to
enter into a contract for casual employment. So far as casual
employment is concerned, the Act leaves the making of such an
arrangement to be agreed between employer and employee.
