Employment law

News: Hiring staff for Christmas is no casual affair

  • (Press Article)
  • Date: 17/10/2007
  • Author/Solicitor: Nick Arron



This article is for you if you are preparing for Christmas and thinking of taking on some casual staff. This may include a few students, for example, who are on holiday to help out during your busy times. Here are a few hints and tips on what you need to think about when taking on a casual employee. As you'll find, it is no casual affair:

'Casual' staff still have certain legal rights. Likewise, you have certain obligations to them as an employer. When taking on casual staff it is important that you explain these rights and the anticipated duration of their employment.

Casual staff are protected by the Part-Time Workers legislation. This means that you have to treat them like any other full time member of staff. For example, when it comes to maternity and paternity rights, pensions and staff benefits you must treat them the same as you treat your permanent staff but calculated on a pro rata basis. This also includes payment rates. Lower pay can only be justified on objective grounds, e.g. performance related pay, previous experience or the type of job role, and of course, pay must be the National Minimum Wage.

When it comes to holiday pay, casual staff are entitled to the same paid holidays as permanent staff but on a pro rata basis. For example, an employee who works three days a week is entitled to 14.4 days of paid holiday - their normal working week multiplied by 4.8. An employee who works four days a week is entitled to 19.2 days' paid holiday - their normal working week multiplied by 4.8. This is calculated over a 12 week period.

Casual staff may also be entitled to Statutory Sick Pay. This will depend on the average amount they earn in a week. They need to earn, before tax and National Insurance, an average of £87.00 a week, calculated over an 8 week period. They must also have been sick for 4 days in a row, including weekends and bank holidays.

Finally if you do dismiss a casual employee you should follow the three stage disciplinary and dismissal procedure which is always good practice to follow anyway. Strictly speaking you should also follow the three stage procedure even when their employment simply ends but parting on friendly terms should suffice!