Casual, Part-Time or Full-Time? What’s the Difference?
Casual, part-time or full-time?
It sounds simple enough… until you’re trying to write the employment contract, work out the hourly rate, calculate leave, and suddenly you’re questioning every career decision that led you here.
The good news? The difference between the three is actually pretty straightforward.
Mostly.
Because this is HR, and apparently we’re not allowed to have nice, simple things.
Under most modern awards in Australia, employees can be engaged as full-time, part-time or casual employees. The correct employment type matters because it affects their hours, pay, leave entitlements and how their employment can operate.
Here’s the TCA breakdown.
Full-Time: “Yep, this is my job.”
A full-time employee generally works 38 ordinary hours per week, or an average of 38 hours depending on the relevant award.
They are a permanent employee, meaning they have an ongoing employment relationship with the business.
Full-time employees generally receive:
Annual leave
Paid personal/carer’s leave
Paid public holidays where applicable
Notice of termination
Redundancy entitlements where applicable
Other entitlements under the relevant award and the National Employment Standards (NES)
Their hours are generally predictable and form part of an agreed employment arrangement.
Think:
“I work here. These are my regular hours. I know when I’m working next Tuesday.”
Part-Time: “I work here… just with a little more flexibility.”
A part-time employee is a permanent employee who generally works fewer hours than a full-time employee, but their employment arrangement can still provide some flexibility around how those hours are worked.
A part-time agreement can be for a set number of hours each week, or can allow for hours to vary within an agreed range, depending on the applicable award and what has been agreed between the employer and employee.
For example, someone might generally work 20–25 hours a week, but have an agreement that allows their hours to increase when the business needs them, potentially up to 38 hours in a week, provided this is permitted under the relevant award and the arrangement.
The key difference from a casual is that there is still an ongoing permanent employment relationship. The employee isn't simply picking up work whenever it happens to be available.
Think:
“I’m a permanent employee, but my hours have a little more wiggle room.”
Part-time employees generally receive:
Annual leave - pro rata
Personal/carer's leave - pro rata
Paid public holiday entitlements where applicable
Notice of termination
Other applicable NES and award entitlements
Their agreed hours and employment conditions set out in their employment arrangement
The important bit: flexibility doesn't automatically make someone casual.
A part-time employee can have variable hours, the arrangement just needs to be structured correctly and comply with the applicable award.
Casual: “What days am I working? Great question.”
Casual employment is different.
A casual employee generally has no firm advance commitment to ongoing and indefinite work, and their employment is characterised by the nature of the arrangement rather than simply the fact that their hours change from week to week.
Casuals are generally paid a casual loading, commonly 25% under modern awards, instead of receiving certain paid leave and other permanent employment entitlements.
That loading is there for a reason.
A casual employee generally doesn't receive paid annual leave or paid personal/carer's leave like a permanent employee. The casual loading compensates for the loss of certain permanent entitlements.
Casual employees generally:
Receive a casual loading, commonly 25%
Don't receive paid annual leave
Don't receive paid personal/carer's leave
Don't receive notice of termination in the same way as permanent employees
Don't receive redundancy entitlements in the same way as permanent employees
Can have less predictable hours than permanent employees
May have minimum engagement requirements under their award
And here's the important bit:
Casual does not simply mean “someone who doesn't work many hours.”
A casual could work 5 hours a week.
A casual could also work 38 hours a week.
The employment relationship and the legal definition of casual employment are what matter — not just the number of hours appearing on the timesheet.
The BIG mistake we see
One of the biggest misconceptions is:
“They're casual because we don't guarantee them hours.”
Not so fast.
You can't simply label someone a casual because it suits the business.
Similarly, you can't automatically call someone part-time just because they're working 20 hours a week.
The employment arrangement needs to match what is actually happening.
If you've got someone working the same 24 hours every week, Monday to Wednesday, for the last two years…
…and they're still being treated like a casual because “that's what their contract says”…
🚩 We should probably have a chat.
The Fair Work Act contains specific rules around casual employment and pathways for casual employees to change to permanent employment.
And what about the money?
Here's where employers sometimes get caught out.
You cannot simply compare:
Permanent employee: $30/hour
with
Casual employee: $37.50/hour
and think:
“The casual is getting paid more, so they're better off.”
The casual's higher ordinary hourly rate may include the 25% casual loading, which is there because they don't receive certain permanent entitlements such as paid annual and personal leave.
For example:
Permanent: $30/hour
Casual with 25% loading: $37.50/hour
That extra $7.50 isn't a cheeky little bonus.
It's compensating for entitlements attached to permanent employment.
And remember: penalty rates, overtime, allowances and minimum engagement periods can also affect the calculation, and these are award-specific.
So which one should you use?
There's no universal “best” employment type.
It comes down to what your business actually needs and what the role genuinely looks like.
Full-time might suit when:
You need someone consistently working around 38 hours a week with an ongoing, stable workload.
Part-time might suit when:
You have an ongoing role but only need, say, 2–4 days per week.
Casual might suit when:
The work genuinely has a casual nature, with no firm advance commitment to ongoing and indefinite work, and the arrangement fits the Fair Work Act and applicable award.
The TCA rule of thumb:
Don't choose the contract first and try to make the role fit it.
Look at the actual job.
Look at the hours.
Look at how predictable the work is.
Look at the applicable award.
Then choose the employment arrangement that actually reflects reality.
Because a beautifully written employment contract doesn't magically make an incorrect employment arrangement correct.
The contract should reflect the relationship , not disguise it.
And if you're sitting there thinking, “Okay… but which one should I actually use for my employee?”
That's exactly where a proper HR review comes in.
HR with heart. Compliance without the headache.
— THE CULTURE ARCHITECT