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Executive Summary

Table of Contents Executive Summary 2 Introduction 3 Casualisation 3 Overview 3 Australia’s Experience 4 Advantages 4 Employers 4 Employees 4 Disadvantages 4 Employers 4 Employees 5 The experience of two industries 5 Hospital Sector 5 Teaching 5 Conclusions 6 Recommendations 6

Introduction
Casualisation
Overview

With the changing landscape of the global market businesses have had to formulate ways in which to remain both ‘responsive and flexible’ to the changing market conditions (Allan et al., 2001, p.750). The global market is becoming a more competitive arena and as a result organisations are forced to find ways to survive and thrive in such an environment. Some methods adopted by employers include reducing their reliance on full time employment and of course by searching for ways in which their costs can decrease and their profits increase. Casual employment is an alternative to full time employment which organisations can offer and it also allows for their costs to be cut back on. Casualisation is also known as insecure work (ADD MORE INFO), which has also experienced an increase and has been attributed to the use of a business model in which the ‘risks associated with work’ are shifted from the employer to the employee (Lives on hold). Shift away from full time employment can be linked to factors such as phases of the business cycle, the increasing participation of women and students in the labour market and structural changes in the composition of industries and occupations (Allan et al., 2001, p.750). Move towards non-standard employment arrangements. Managers seek numeric flexibility to control and manage labour costs by matching employee numbers to fluctuations in demand for their products and services (Nesbit, p.326). An important factor to consider is that the choice to be casual could simply be the choice of the employee and not an employer implementing some form of strategy but instead was an employers way of responding to labour shortages as a result of not being able to fulfil full time positions (Lumley, Stanton & Bartram, 2004, p. 43).

Casualisation has a number of characteristics. Those that hold casual positions have ‘reduced access to unfair dismissal rights and lack of representational rights’ (Pocock, Buchannan & Campbell, 2004, p.20). The advantages and disadvantages of this phenomenon will provided later on in this report in more detail for both employers and employees.
Australia’s Experience

Campbell and Brosnan, 2005, p. states that Australian employers derive five advantages from hiring casuals in their organisations: 1. They gain operational, functional and administrative flexibility 2. Casuals are rarely eligible for promotions or to be on experience related pay scales, even with casual loadings are regarded to be lowly paid workers 3. Can dismiss a casual worker without fear of legal or financial claims 4. Position unsafe and therefore are less likely to question managerial decisions 5. Employers save on various benefits which permanent and fixed term workers gain by right.
Advantages
Employers

Cheaper labour costs, administrative convenience, greater ease of dismissal, ability to match labour time fluctuations in workload and enhanced control (short term advantages with long term costs). It will result in poor skill development and utilisation (Pocock, Buchannan & Campbell, 2004, p.20). By hiring casuals employees organisations are able to absorb ‘new ideas, different viewpoints and gain a pool of other resources’ (Lumley, Stanton & Bartram, 2004, p. 43).

Employees

For employees, the most prominent and attractive benefit is the flexibility associated with casual work. Many of those occupying casual positions are women and more often than not these women have familial responsibilities so obtaining work that provides the flexibility to care for family is advantageous.

Disadvantages
Employers

Employees

For casual employees the disadvantages far outweigh any advantages they receive during the course of their employment. * Poor security * poor access to training and development * reduced leave entitlements * lower pay rates * poor unionization (Bamberry, p.52)
Reduced access to unfair dismissal rights, lack of representational rights - (Pocock, Buchannan & Campbell, 2004, p.20).
The experience of two industries
Hospital Sector

A study by Lumley, Stanton and Bartram (2004) provides insights into the experiences of casually employed nurses. The study was based on two Victorian Hospital, one public and one private. The study found that the various costs associated with hiring casual nurses could be “further exacerbated by high turnover rates” (Lumley, Stanton & Bartram, 2004, p. 36). The authors also found that those who held casual positions chose casual employment because ‘there was a lack of family friendly policies and inflexibility in rostering for permanent full time employees’ (Lumley, Stanton & Bartram, 2004, p.38). Other reasons for not taking up full time positions included the unwillingness of taking on associated stresses (Lumley, Stanton & Bartram, 2004, p. 39).

Teaching

The educational industry consists of pre school education, school (primary and secondary) and tertiary which includes vocational education, training and higher education (Bamberry, p.52). It is an industry which is mostly perceived as being able to provide a number of advantages such as ‘long term career prospects, security, potential for skills development and also promotional opportunities’ (Bamberry, p.52). In 2012 it was estimated by the National Tertiary Education Union that there were around 67,000 casual academic employees working in universities around Australia (Rothengatter & Hil, 2013, p.51). In the same article it is also noted that more than 50 per cent of university work is carried out by casual staff members (Rothengatter & Hil, 2013, p.51). Besides the driving forces behind casualization noted earlier on in report this particular industry is facing an aging workforce with ‘significant numbers set to reitre over the coming decades’ (May, Strachan & Peetz, ,p. 1). It is also noted by Brown, Goodman and Yasukawa (2010, p.172) that there has been a significant increase in the amount of university students and in order to meet the needs of these students Universities have sought to hire casuals on a semester-to-semester basis. Casual teachers usually receive a request to fill in for a permanent staff member of the organisation and at short notice (Bamberry, p.53). Despite the perceived advantages stated earlier, these more often than not are not realised. Yes there is every chance that a teacher that has been working at a particular school on an ongoing basis could become a permanent fixture over time. But for a majority of casual teachers there is no employment stability and no guarantee of ongoing work (Bamberry, p.53). Most casual academics see their casual employment status as temporary stage in their career as they seek to achieve a more permanent secure position, in the study by May, Strachan & Peetz, it was found that for those surveyed ‘casual employment was a minority preference and 1 in 5 were employed at more than one institution’ ( p.18).

One well-known characteristic of casual employment is the potential for flexibility. It is this feature alone that can be most attractive to those with family responsibilities. On the other hand it is also important for those in casual employment to be able to achieve some form of stability in their scheduling, especially when it comes to arranging childcare and other services, this is noted by Bamberry ( , p.58), where in a study it was found that flexibility was not achieved because those holding casual positions had no control over their schedules. The issue of lack of control over work rosters is raised in a study by Brown, Goodman and Yasukawa (2010, p.176) where it was found that those surveyed found that they could ‘neither negotiate their workload or have any say on when they would work’. Wages received by teachers is dependent on their years of experience but casuals from the start are already at a disadvantage as their pay scale is capped at a lower level (Bamberry, p.60). They are also not paid on public holidays and their employer superannuation contribution is paid at the award rate (Brown, Goodman & Yasukawa, 2010, p.172). Casual academic teachers are paid for a wide range of duties such as class preparation, administrative duties and student consultation (May, Strachan & Peetz, p.3). And yet despite being expected to carry out such duties they are not always provided with the necessary resources to do so. May, Strachan & Peetz () raise the question about how (INSERT). Another hindrance faced by casual teachers is the lack of development opportunities (ADD MORE).
Conclusions
Recommendations
References