Casual Work Contract

Use this Casual Work Contract where you need staffing flexibility to meet variable demand, without creating an ongoing employment relationship between assignments.

Related document

If you are deciding between a casual work arrangement and a zero hours arrangement, see Casual Worker / Zero Hours Comparison.

Key distinctions this contract is based on

Unhelpfully, the terms ‘casual workers’ and ‘zero hour workers’ are often used interchangeably and there is no definitive definition of what constitutes a zero hours contract. It is important, therefore, that employers use the correct contract to meet their requirements.

For these purposes, casual workers are not considered to be employees working under a contract of employment because there is no mutuality of obligation and, under this contract, there is no continuing employment relationship between assignments.

Employers should ensure that assignments are of short duration and there is a sufficient gap between assignments (i.e. more than a week) to avoid claims that assignments are linked under a ‘global’ contract (see Zero Hours Contract).

What is (and is not) included

Because a casual worker is not an employee, these terms and conditions do not contain many standard employment contract clauses (for example, pensions, grievance, disciplinary, maternity and paternity, collective agreements and sick pay).

However, employers should be aware that, notwithstanding the absence of, say, a sick pay clause, a casual worker may still be entitled to Statutory Sick Pay (SSP) if they reach the SSP threshold.

What this contract covers

This contract is designed for situations where the Employer has no obligation to offer work to an individual and the individual is not required to accept work when it is offered.

For situations where the Employer is under no obligation to offer an Employee work but, when it does, the Employee is required to accept the offer, please see the Zero Hours Contract.

• Assignments and how work is offered
• No continuous service and no ongoing relationship between assignments
• Hours of work, place of work and remuneration
• Holiday entitlement and sickness absence provisions (where applicable)
• Termination, data protection, severability and governing law and jurisdiction
• Right to work in the UK

This contract is regularly reviewed to ensure it reflects the current position on casual workers.

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