Sick and carer’s leave for casual and part-time workers

Do casual employees get paid sick leave?

No. Under the National Employment Standards, all employees except casuals are entitled to paid sick and carer’s leave. Casuals don’t get most types of paid leave, even if they’ve worked regularly for a long time.

Instead, casual employees are paid either a casual loading (a higher rate for being casual) or a specific casual pay rate set by their award, registered agreement or contract.

That means if you’re casual and too sick to work a shift, the National Employment Standards don’t require your employer to pay you for it. Your award or agreement may say more, so check it.

What leave can casual employees take?

Casuals still have some leave entitlements under the National Employment Standards:

• 2 days of unpaid carer’s leave per occasion
• 2 days of unpaid compassionate leave per occasion
• 10 days of paid family and domestic violence leave per year
• unpaid community service leave.

Casuals can also take unpaid parental leave and request flexible working arrangements if they’ve been employed on a regular and systematic basis for at least 12 months and reasonably expect that to continue.

How does unpaid carer’s leave work for casuals?

You can take 2 days of unpaid carer’s leave each time an immediate family or household member needs care or support because of an illness, injury or unexpected emergency. Immediate family includes a partner or former partner, child, parent, grandparent, grandchild or sibling, and some of your partner’s relatives. A household member is anyone who lives with you. Our carer’s leave guide has the full list.

You can take the 2 days in one continuous period, or in separate periods if you and your employer agree, such as four half days. Your employer can’t take negative action against you for taking unpaid carer’s leave.

Am I really casual if I work regular shifts?

You’re a casual employee if, when you start, there’s no firm advance commitment to ongoing work and you’re entitled to a casual loading or casual pay rate. Whether there’s a firm commitment depends on the practical reality of the job, including whether your employer can choose to offer work, whether you can accept or turn it down, and whether permanent staff do the same kind of work.

Having a regular pattern of work doesn’t, on its own, make you permanent. But casuals have a pathway under the National Employment Standards to become permanent in some circumstances, and you can change to full-time or part-time at any time if you and your employer both agree.

It’s illegal for an employer to dismiss or threaten to dismiss a full-time or part-time employee, or knowingly mislead them, to re-engage them as a casual doing the same work. If you think you’ve been wrongly engaged as a casual, the Fair Work Ombudsman can help on 13 13 94.

How much sick leave do part-time employees get?

Part-time employees get paid sick and carer’s leave on a pro rata basis. Like full-time employees, it’s 1/26 of your ordinary hours of work in a year, and it starts accruing from your first day. Unused leave carries over each year.

The Fair Work Ombudsman’s example: Suzanne works full-time, 38 hours a week, and gets 76 hours of paid sick and carer’s leave a year. Rebecca is part-time and works an average of 19 hours a week over a five-day fortnight. She works half Suzanne’s hours, so she gets half the leave: 38 hours a year.

How your hours are spread doesn’t change this. Someone working 38 hours over four days accrues the same as someone working 38 hours over five. For more on the calculation, see how much sick leave you get.

	Casual	Part-time	Full-time
Paid sick and carer’s leave	No	Pro rata, 1/26 of ordinary hours	10 days a year
Unpaid carer’s leave	2 days each time	2 days each time, once paid leave is used	2 days each time, once paid leave is used
Compassionate leave	2 days unpaid each time	Yes	Yes
Usual pay arrangement	Casual loading or casual rate	Paid leave entitlements	Paid leave entitlements

How are part-time employees paid on sick leave?

Part-time employees are paid at their base pay rate for the hours they would normally have worked during the leave. Base pay doesn’t include overtime, penalty rates, loadings, allowances or bonuses.

What about notice and evidence?

Part-time employees follow the same rules as full-time employees for paid leave. Tell your employer as soon as possible, which can be after the leave has started, and say how long you expect to be away. Your employer can ask for evidence for as little as one day off, and it needs to convince a reasonable person that you were genuinely entitled to the leave. See when you legally need a medical certificate for work.

If you’re casual, check your award or agreement for what your employer can ask of you when you can’t work a shift, and ask the Fair Work Ombudsman if you’re unsure. For tips on the conversation itself, read how to talk to your employer about taking sick leave.

Awards, registered agreements and contracts can give more than the National Employment Standards, but not less. This guide is general information, not legal advice.

If you’re unwell now and need evidence for work, you can request an online assessment. A registered practitioner reviews your request, and a certificate is issued only when clinically appropriate.