Employers with enterprise agreements in place are likely to face calls from employees and unions that casual conversion clauses should be included in an enterprise agreement in the next round of bargaining. While the clauses are not mandatory, they will be a significant consideration when applying the 'BOOT' assessment for casuals.
The source of this claim is the July 2017 decision by a Full Bench of the FWC to incorporate a model casual conversion clause into the vast majority of modern awards (see our Employment Alert).
The proposed clause allows a casual employee to request that their employer convert their employment to part-time or full-time employment after 12 months of service. The employer may refuse the request on reasonable grounds after there has been consultation with the employee.
It also requires that the employer give casual employees a written copy of the conversion clause within the first 12 months of their first engagement to perform work.
More broadly in the Asia-Pacific region, 2017 saw workers raise concerns about the "casualisation" of labour and pressure mount on multi-nationals to ensure compliance with labour laws throughout their supply chains. Enforcement activity increased particularly in the Philippines, where a Department of Labour and Employment drive against labour only contracting has seen thousands of workers regularised. That initiative will continue in 2018 and is likely to affect multi-nationals who have outsourced functions to the jurisdiction.