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The standard type of employment contract in Australia is an ongoing permanent contract. This could be on a full time or part time basis. A full time contract employee will work the standard 38 hour weeks, while a part time employee will work less than this. These contracts are open-ended until an employee is dismissed or resigns.
Casual employment contracts are also quite common. Casual employees are not entitled to paid leave, and redundancy or severance pay. Casual employees also do not have to give notice when terminating a contract. If a causal employee begins working regular hours and on a systematic basis, they must be offered the option to upgrade to either a full-time or part-time status after 12 months.
An alternative contract type is a fixed term contract. These contracts are not ongoing, however the employee and employer will have agreed for the employee to work for a fixed amount of time. Fixed term employees are entitled to all entitlements as they equate to their fixed term timeframe except redundancy pay. Generally employees cannot be terminated during the agree fixed term. Employers with fixed term employees do not need to give their employee notice.
There is a second type of fixed term contact known as a maximum term contract. This contract gives the employer more lee-way when it comes to being able to terminate an employee within a specified employment term. This right also extends to the employee for resigning from the contract. Notice must be given to meet Australian employment law standards.
Another alternative employment contract type is hiring employees or “labour” through an agency. Whenever an employee is hired in this way, their term will most likely be fixed, and be on a project or assignment basis. This could be from 1 day to several years. Host employers hiring from the labour agency will not be entitled to fulfil employment entitlements but must ensure they meet Workplace health and safety (WHS) standards.
Some other types of employment contracts that are less common in Australia or more suited to specific circumstances is a seasonal contract or a pieceworker contract.
Seasonal contract: This type of contract is for employers needing to hire temporary workers at certain times of the year
Pieceworker contract: This contract is based on how many items are picked (such as fruit pieces on fruit farms) rather than actual hours worked.
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The main differences between the standard contracts and alternative contracts is period of employment being open ended or fixed, certain employee entitlements and notice periods.
Horizons only offers open-ended employment contracts for companies looking to hire employees in Australia. If you require a different type of employment relationship with employees in Australia, you should contact a taxation expert to see if one of the other available contracts will be viable for your needs against other factors when hiring in Australia.
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