An employment contract establishes the terms and expectations of an employee before they start work. It outlines everything the employee has to know about working for you, including employee rights, working hours and performance expectations in the role. Each employment type has different entitlements and obligations that must be met by both the employer and employee. Before hiring a new worker, take the time to look at what each employment type would mean for you and your business.

Full-time employees:
A full-time employee will work an average of 38 hours a week and is a permanent employee. The specific working hours in a week are agreed upon in the employee contract. Under the National Employment Standards (NES), there are 10 minimum entitlements that need to be provided to employees;

• Maximum weekly hours.
• Requests for flexible working arrangements.
• Parental leave and related entitlements.
• Annual leave – 4 weeks of annual leave are given every year based on ordinary hours of work. Leave that is left over at the end of each year carries over to the next year.
• Personal/carer’s leave, compassionate leave and unpaid family and domestic violence leave. Employees receive 10 days of this leave every year.
• Community service leave.
• Long service leave.
• Public holidays.
• Notice of termination and redundancy pay.
• Fair Work Information Statement.

Part-time employees:
Part-time employees work on average less than 38 hours a week, usually at regular times, and are permanent employees. Part-time employees have the same rights as full-time workers on a proportional basis.

Casual employees:
A casual employee does not have a definitive commitment from an employer about how long they will be employed for or the days/hours they will work. A casual employee doesn’t get paid sick or annual leave, can end employment without notice, has a higher pay rate than equivalent full-time or part-time employees due to ‘casual loading’, two days unpaid carer’s leave and two days unpaid compassionate leave per occasion, five days unpaid family and domestic violence leave in a 12-month period and unpaid community service leave.