Landmark Judgement for Casual Employees

The Federal Court of Australia has delivered a landmark judgement for casual employees in the case of WorkPac Pty Ltd v Rossato [2020] FCAFC 84.

WorkPac had employed Mr Rossato on 6 consecutive employment contracts spanning 3 and a half years. Each contract treated Mr Rossato as a causal employee.

The Court found that due to the length of continuous employment and the full-time nature of that employment, Mr Rossato should be recognized as a ‘full-time employee.”

The Court described Mr Rossato’s employment as ‘regular, certain, continuing, constant and predictable,’ and that he knew his shifts well in advance.

Mr Rossato was entitled to be treated as a full-time employee regarding leave entitlements.

This was even though WorkPac was paying a 25% ‘casual loading’ to Mr Rossato.

This decision is one that has wide-reaching ramifications for an estimated 2.6 million Australian workers on casual contracts.

It is estimated that 1.6 million of “casual” workers work ‘regularly’ and have done so for at least 6 months.

If you are a casual employee that may be entitled to unpaid leave entitlements, contact Hammond Legal.