How Changing Casual Employment Legislation and Student Visa Rules Will Affect Your Business
Whether you’re a small business owner or CEO of a mid-to-large-sized company, if you employ casual workers, you should be aware of some key changes to the Fair Work Act and Student Visa regulations under COVID-19.
Regarding the changed Fair Work Act, employers need to provide all casual workers with an updated copy of the Casual Employment Information Statement (CEIS) before the workers start their jobs or as soon as possible after starting. All existing casual workers must also be provided with an updated statement as soon as practicable.
Generally speaking, the CEIS offers information on how a casual employee is defined, when an employer does or does not have to provide casual conversion, when an employee can request casual conversion, what employee entitlements cover, and how the Fair Work Commission is involved in the case of a dispute. Updates to the latest version include changes to the definition of a casual employee and some small updates to casual conversion of existing employees.
With these new updates, the Fair Work Commission mandates that “small business employers need to give their existing casual employees (employed before 27 March 2021) a copy of the Casual Employment Information Statement (CEIS) as soon as possible after 27 March 2021. All other employers have to give their existing casual employees (employed before 27 March 2021) a copy of the CEIS as soon as possible after 27 September 2021.”
As an employer, you can provide the CEIS in person, via mail, email, intranet or fax, or another method. The CEIS provided must be the latest version, and it is the employer’s responsibility to verify they are providing the correct document to their staff.
Now that we’ve covered the basic changes for casual employment let’s turn to student visa workers – who may also be casual staff. If your business regularly employs individuals on student visas, or if you are suffering a worker shortage due to COVID-19, you should be aware of some changes to the application of student visa rules in Australia. To better support businesses in specific sectors during the pandemic, the Department of Home Affairs and Australian Border Force is offering greater flexibility to student visa holders.
The most noteworthy change is that student visa holders can now work more than 40 hours a fortnight if employed by these specific sectors. Per the Department of Home Affairs and Australian Border Force, this includes employment:
By an aged care Approved Provider or Commonwealth-funded aged care service provider with a RACS ID or a NAPS ID, before 8 September 2020;
By a registered National Disability Insurance Scheme (NDIS) provider before 23 April 2020
Enrolled in a health care related course and you are supporting the health effort against COVID-19, as directed by health officials
In the agriculture sector
In the tourism and hospitality sector
In a supermarket, or associated distribution facility, located in an area impacted by COVID-19 lockdown restrictions for the duration of the lockdown
It’s also worth noting that, in hospitality and tourism, this also includes working for employers who do not provide services directly to tourists. These changes are temporary, so if they could potentially benefit your business during the pandemic, make sure you’re taking advantage of them while they are still available to your company. Don’t forget, all aspects of Australian workplace law still apply.
How can Halkin Business Partners help?
If you need to understand the regulations around casual work better, are looking to expand your workforce with casual or student visa workers, or are simply in need of guidance on employment legislation, the experts at Halkin Business Partners can assist. Our specialists offer employment tax advice and HR consulting to ensure your business is compliant and optimised for success.
