# Casual employment Official source: https://www.employment.govt.nz/starting-employment/types-of-worker/casual-employment Scanned: 2026-06-07T03:31:31.402Z Use this as a current official guidance reference, not as a substitute for legal advice. ## Page Text Home Starting employment Types of worker Casual employment Types of worker Starting employment Rights and responsibilities Types of worker Understanding types of workers Employee or contractor? Permanent or fixed-term employment Casual employment Apprentices and trainees Triangular employment situations Volunteers, internships and studentships Screen industry workers Hiring Employment agreements Everyone Casual employment Learn about casual employees and what entitlements they receive. What casual employment is Casual employees and casual employment are not defined in the law. Casual employment usually means a situation where the employee: works when it suits them and their employer, and they can turn down work does not have a regular pattern of work, and does not expect ongoing employment. Casual employees have most of the same rights and responsibilities as permanent employees — for example, they have the same rights to rest and meal breaks. However: they only go to work if their employer asks them to and they agree the way annual holidays, and sick, bereavement and family violence leave apply to them can be different their employment can usually end without a formal dismissal or resignation process. How casual employment is different to other employment The main characteristic of casual employment is that: the employer An individual or organisation that hires 1 or more employees and contracts them to work in exchange for wages or salary under a ‘contract of service’ (commonly called an ‘employment agreement’). does not have to provide work to the employee, and the employee Any person, whatever their age, who is employed by an employer to do any work for hire or reward under a ‘contract of service’ (commonly called an ‘employment agreement’). does not have to accept work from the employer. The Employment Relations Authority and Employment Court will also look at other things to decide if an employee is casual. An employee is unlikely to be casual if: a regular pattern of work can be established they are allocated work in advance on a roster they have to tell their employer, and get their agreement, if they’re not going to be available for work the work is ongoing, with no significant breaks in employment they have consistent start and finish times they are an essential part of the business – their employer relies on them to get the work done. Casual employment is not the same as part-time employment Part-time employees work less than about 30 hours a week and have regular and guaranteed hours or days of work. Casual employees work when it suits them and their employer, and there is no guarantee or expectation of regular or ongoing employment. For more information about the different types of employment, visit: Understanding different types of workers Casual is not the same as on-call Casual employment is not the same as being on-call When an employee is on standby, and ready and available to work. . An employee who is on-call has agreed to go to work if they are asked to. They usually get an on-call allowance and have to be ready to work at short notice. On-call employees are often not allowed to travel too far away from the workplace so they can get there quickly if they’re called in. Working overtime or extra shifts Pat is a truck driver. Her employer sometimes contacts her if one of their regular drivers cannot work. Pat can decide whether to accept or decline any work she’s offered. The amount of work Pat accepts varies from week to week. Some weeks she does not work at all, but last week she worked 4 days. Pat decides to tell her employer that she can work on Thursdays and Fridays. Pat’s employer calls her on Tuesday and asks if she can work on Friday this week. Pat has changed her mind and says she now cannot work on Friday. Her employer says that’s fine, and they’ll call Pat next time they need a driver. Pat is a casual employee because: the amount of work she does varies each week there is no expectation for her employer to offer work there is no expectation for Pat to accept work. Even though Pat told her employer she could work on Thursdays and Fridays, she’s still a casual employee. This is because: her employer did not have to offer her work on those days, and she could still decline the work when she was offered it. Jin is a site inspector. Her employment agreement says she is casual. Jin started working for her employer 6 months ago. Over the past 3 months, she has worked every Tuesday and Thursday. This week, Jin cannot work on Tuesday. She contacts her employer to let them know she will not be available. Her employer says she must work because there is no one else who can do the inspection that day. They tell Jin that she needs to give them 2 weeks’ notice if she will not be available for work. Jin is not a casual employee because: her pattern of work is consistent and predictable she cannot decline work or take time off without giving her employer notice she is an essential part of the business. Even though Jin’s employment agreement says she is casual, it’s her actual work situation which determines what type of employment she has. In this case, Jin’s work situation shows she is a permanent part-time employee. Employment agreements for casual employees Casual employees must have an employment agreement A written document setting out the terms and conditions of employment agreed by the employer and employee (also known as a ‘contract of service’). It can include other contractual documents and agreements made by the employer and employee. Every employee must have a written employment agreement. that clearly describes the work arrangement. The agreement should make it clear: that there is no guarantee of work on a specific day that the amount of work will vary that each time the employee accepts an offer of work it’s considered a new period of employment that the terms of the agreement apply to each new period of employment how the employer will let the employee know when there is work available that the employee does not have to accept work. It must contain all the mandatory clauses that are required in an employment agreement. For example, how much the employee will be paid and how any employment relationship problems will be resolved. You can use our Employment Agreement Builder to create an employment agreement. Employment Agreement Builder (external link) Annual holidays and leave for casual employees Casual employees can work for more than one employer at the same time. However, they cannot combine these hours to qualify for holidays and leave. Entitlement to annual holidays Paid time away from work for rest and recreation. and leave is based on how much they’ve worked for the same employer. Annual holiday entitlement for casuals All employees are entitled to 4 weeks of paid annual holidays each year after 12 months of continuous employment. Annual holidays Sometimes casual employees work so irregularly or intermittently that they can be paid their annual holiday entitlement with their pay instead of getting 4 weeks of paid annual holidays each year. This is called ‘ pay-as-you-go’ Payment for annual holidays at the rate of not less than 8% of the employee’s gross earnings, which is paid with their regular pay instead of getting 4 weeks’ paid annual holidays each year. Some casual and fixed-term employees may get pay-as-you-go holiday pay by agreement. . Generally, people use the word ‘intermittent’ to mean stopping and starting with gaps in between. However, having irregular or intermittent employment does not mean the employee automatically qualifies for pay-as-you-go. Casual employees can only get pay-as-you-go if it’s impracticable for their employer to provide 4 weeks of annual holidays. There are also other rules about paying pay-as-you-go. Find out more: Pay-as-you-go annual holiday pay Sick, bereavement and family violence leave, and alternative holidays All employees are entitled to paid sick, bereavement, and family violence leave if: they have completed 6 months’ current continuous employment, or over a 6-month period they have worked: an average of at least 10 hours a week, and at least 1 hour a week or 40 hours a month. Leave and holidays Casual employees who qualify for sick, bereavement and family violence leave can take a paid day off if it’s a day they would usually work (an ‘otherwise working day’). Alternative holiday Casual employees who work on a public holiday that is an otherwise working day are entitled to an alternative holiday. A paid day off to take at another time. Employees get an alternative holiday when they work on a public holiday that is an otherwise working day. Public holidays rights for employees Can a casual employee have an otherwise working day? Generally, casual employees do not have otherwise working days because they do not have set, regular days of work. However, a casual employee could have an otherwise working day A day that the employee would have worked had it not been a public holiday, sick leave, bereavement leave, family violence leave, annual holiday or an alternative holiday for that employee. if they: have worked regularly on the day in question, or had agreed to work on the day, or could have expected to work on the day. There is no rule about how many weeks an employee needs to have worked on the day in question for it to be an otherwise working day. Working out if it’s an otherwise working day needs to be done on a case-by-case basis, and employers and employees must consider several factors rather than use a formula. For more information, visit: Managing public holidays as an employer If the employee is working regularly, the employer should consider if they are truly casual or if they are permanent. A casual employee could also have an otherwise working day if they were rostered on the day. However, there is a high likelihood that an employee is not truly casual if they are required to work by a roster. Permanent or fixed-term employment What is continuous employment? It’s important to know if an employee has continuous employment so that they get the correct holiday and leave entitlements. ‘Continuous employment’ generally means that the employee has worked for the same employer with no significant breaks. Some breaks in employment still count towards a period of continuous employment for entitlement to annual holidays. These are when an employee was on: paid holidays or leave parental leave volunteers’ leave ACC unpaid sick, bereavement or family violence leave leave without pay for less than 1 week. It’s good practice to also count these breaks when working out entitlement to sick, bereavement and family violence leave. Check the employment agreement Sometimes employment agreements say when employment will be continuous. This could be so that employees who have frequent or regular gaps in employment can get annual holidays and leave entitlements — for example, employees who only work during term-time. Employees and employers should check the employment agreement to see if it says anything about continuous employment. If it’s not clear, they should talk to each other about it in good faith. ‘Specified employees’ (employees who have extra protections in a restructure) have continuous employment when they transfer from their old employer to a new employer. All other employees only have continuous employment when they transfer to a new employer if their old and new employers agree to it. However, their old employer must pay out any annual holidays and alternative holidays they owe the employee when their employment ends with that employer. Find out more: Restructuring when a business is sold or transferred Final pay If an employer dismisses (fires) an employee and then employs (rehires) them again within 1 month, the employee still has continuous employment. The time between firing and re-hiring counts towards their continuous employment period. The exception is if a Labour Inspector A warranted employee of MBIE who ensures employment standards are met in the workplace. They can take enforcement action for non-compliance with employment standards. decides that the employer: acted in good faith, and was not trying to avoid giving the employee their minimum entitlement to holidays and leave. In this situation, the time between firing and re-hiring does not count towards continuous employment. Holidays Act 2003 s85 - New Zealand Legislation (external link) Seek legal advice This is a complicated area of law, and we recommend employees and employers who are not sure if employment is continuous seek legal advice. Ending (terminating) casual employment If the employee wants to end the employment Casual employees can stop accepting work at any time. They do not usually have to give notice to leave their job because each time they finish working it’s considered the end of their employment. However, if a casual employee wants to stop working for their employer, they should check their employment agreement to see what it says about resigning and giving notice. For example, they may have to give notice if they’ve already accepted work from their employer. If the agreement requires formal resignation, comply with this. Resignation If the employer wants to end the employment Employers can stop offering casual employees work at any time. If an employer stops offering work, it’s not a dismissal because they do not have to provide employment. However, if an employer sends an employee home partway through a shift or goes back on an offer of work the employee has accepted, this could be considered a dismissal during a period of employment. Employers and employees should check the employment agreement or workplace policies to see what they say about: cancelling work