Whether you qualify comes down to how regular your work really was. A short call will sort it out. Call 1800 UNFAIR (1800 863 247). The first call is free, with no obligation.
When a casual can claim
To claim unfair dismissal you generally need to have completed a minimum employment period, and for casuals there is an extra layer.
A period of casual service counts towards that minimum period where the employee was a regular casual employee, meaning a casual employed on a regular and systematic basis, and the employee had a reasonable expectation of ongoing employment on a regular and systematic basis.
In plain terms: if you worked regular, predictable shifts and reasonably expected the work to keep coming, your casual time can count. If your shifts were genuinely irregular and one-off, they generally will not.
A few useful points:
- It is your period of service that matters, not whether each shift was a separate engagement.
- A gap for illness or injury does not break your continuous service.
- Some stretches of your casual work might qualify while others do not, so the pattern of your shifts really matters.
The minimum period
You generally need 6 months of qualifying service, or 12 months if your employer is a small business (fewer than 15 employees). See our page on the minimum employment period for the detail.
Casual conversion is a separate thing
You may also have heard about casual conversion, the right in some cases to move from casual to permanent employment. That is a different issue from unfair dismissal, and the rules changed recently. the rules changed on 26 August 2024, and eligible casuals can now notify their employer in writing that they want to change to permanent employment through an employee-choice process, with different timing for small business employers. If you were dismissed to avoid converting you, that is worth raising with us.
The 21 day deadline
If you were dismissed, you generally have 21 days from the day it took effect to lodge. The Commission rarely extends it. Casual or not, the deadline is the same, so do not assume you have no case and let the time run out.
Find out if you qualify
Whether your casual work counts turns on the pattern of your shifts and your expectation of ongoing work. That is exactly the kind of thing worth talking through with someone who assesses it every day.
Do not rule yourself out because someone told you casuals have no rights.
Call 1800 UNFAIR (1800 863 247). The first call is free and there is no obligation. Monday to Friday 9am to 9pm, weekends 9am to 5pm.
We are paid agents, not lawyers. We represent employees at the Fair Work Commission and we will give you a straight answer about whether you can claim.