14. Casual employment

14.1. For the purposes of this clause, ‘casual staff’ will be taken to mean casual sessional academic (CSA) staff and casual professional staff unless otherwise specified.

14.2. The University acknowledges the contribution that casual staff make to the success of the University.

Reduction in the use of casual employment

14.3. The University is committed to limiting the use of casual employment to circumstances where the work is genuinely temporary, irregular or of an intermittent nature. It is not the University's intention to use casual employment to fill positions that could otherwise reasonably be filled on a continuing, continuing (contingent funded) or fixed term basis.

14.4. Within six months of this Agreement taking effect, the University will organise its workforce so that the use of casual employment will be limited to the following circumstances:

1. short term engagement(s) which on reasonable grounds at the time of engagement, is/are not expected to be renewed in the foreseeable future (such as to cover the absence of an employee, a sudden and unexpected, or seasonal increase in employment requirements);
2. an engagement to perform some or all of the work of a vacant position which has been advertised on a continuing, continuing (contingent funded) or fixed-term basis and is pending appointment or commencement of the successful candidate. Casual employment in this category will be limited to three months in respect of each such vacancy;
3. work which is intermittent and unpredictable and where, as a question of contract and fact, the staff member may refuse or accept each day's work without disadvantaging their prospect of further engagement;
4. work provided to an ANU student;
5. emergency employment of a short-term nature to cover unexpected demands such as a natural disaster, health emergency or like necessity;
6. specialised employment of a person with unique skills or attributes which can only be obtained on a casual basis, and including the provision of industry, disciplinary, professional or clinical experience to teaching programs; and
7. employment of a person who has informed the University that they would prefer to be engaged on casual appointment(s).

14.5. Over the nominal term of this Agreement, the University will reduce its use of casual employment by at least 18.7% on a full time equivalent basis, as compared to the University’s casual workforce reported as ‘Actual Casual’ for 2020 in the Department of Education, Skills and Employment’s ‘2021 Staff Appendix – Actual staff FTE’. This will be achieved via:

1. Creation of, or access to, identified positions open to casual employees only;
2. Access to all internally advertised job opportunities;
3. Reorganisation of the workforce in accordance with clause 14.4; and
4. Conversion of eligible casual employees in accordance with the provisions of this Agreement.

14.6. In addition to the above measures, the University supports a reduction in the number of CSA positions to facilitate CSA staff members, who wish to pursue an academic career, with opportunities to seek and obtain non-casual appointments. The University undertakes to develop a range of succession planning options for existing CSA staff to achieve this goal by providing that:

1. eligible CSA staff members will have an avenue to have their employment converted to a non-casual appointment, in accordance with the conversion provisions outlined in the clause;
2. existing CSA staff who are also undertaking PhD studies at the University will be given priority for an appointment and where possible will be provided with an opportunity to gain lecturing and research experience and skills; and
3. CSA staff who have expressed an interest in an ongoing academic career will be considered for appointment to a non-casual vacancy prior to the University seeking external applications.

14.7. The measures outlined in clause 14.5 will result in a minimum of 116 FTE non-casual positions that will be filled by casually employed staff over the life of the Agreement. These positions will be continuing, except where:

1. The position satisfies the criteria for Continuing (Contingent-Funded) employment in clause 12; or
2. The position satisfies the criteria for fixed-term employment in clause 14 and is a minimum of 24 months in duration.

Notwithstanding (a) or (b), the University may choose to offer any of these positions on a continuing basis.

14.8. To support the University achieve this goal, the University will consult with the Implementation Committee twice per year to monitor casual FTE.

Employment conditions for casual staff

14.9. All casual staff members will be paid a casual loading of 25% in lieu of all paid leave entitlements, except as provided in clauses 35.10, 36.10, 39.5 and 40.6. This loading is incorporated into the casual sessional academic salary rates specified in Schedule 2.

14.10. Where practical, casual staff will be provided with reasonable access, commensurate with available resources, to University facilities to enable them to perform University work. These include access to the library, email and internet, a working space, and out-of-hours access to the office as appropriate.

14.11. A casual appointment may be terminated in accordance with clause 55 (Notice periods).

Employment conditions for casual sessional academic staff

14.12. The definition of casual sessional academic activities and associated CSA salary rates are provided in Schedule 2.

14.13. CSA staff will not be:

1. responsible for the engagement or supervision of other staff;
2. required to engage in research duties (for the purpose of this clause preparation for teaching and course/subject development is not regarded as research);
3. involved in administration, except to the extent that it is necessary to support their primary teaching related function; and
4. will not have sole academic or decision making responsibility for the development of an on-line teaching and learning course.

14.14. CSA staff must be engaged and paid for at least two hours of work on each occasion they are required to attend work by the University, inclusive of any incorporated time and payment for preparation or associated working time.

Employment conditions for casual professional staff

1. has been employed by the University for twelve months;
2. has worked a regular pattern of hours on an ongoing basis for at least the last six months;
3. could continue working their regular hours as a full-time or part-time employee without significant changes.

1. has refused an offer in the last six months for conversion to continuing or continuing (contingent funded) employment;
2. has received written confirmation from the University in the last six months with reasonable grounds for not converting their employment;
3. is a genuine retiree; or
4. has a primary occupation with the University or elsewhere (including self-employed persons).

1. affect the employee's eligibility for conversion;
2. be included in determining whether the employee meets or does not meet the eligibility requirements.

14.24. A casual staff member must not be engaged and re-engaged, nor have their hours reduced in order to avoid any obligation under this provision.

14.25. Where a conversion request has been declined, the staff member will be provided with written reasons for the outcome.

Procedure for conversion to non-casual employment

1. type of employment (full-time or part-time); and
2. hours of work; and
3. commencement date of the conversion.