Generally speaking, employment is a paid work relationship where:

• an employer hires a person to work in and on behalf of their business
• the employee’s work is directed and controlled by the employer
• the employee is paid a salary or wage in return for their work.

It is important to understand how an employment relationship is different to other work arrangements, including:

• being an independent contractor or hobbyist, or
• doing unpaid work such as volunteering, work experience or a student placement.

Usually, when an employee works for an employer:

• the intellectual property rights for the work of the employee will belong to the employer
• if a project the employee works on makes a lot of profit, the employer will get the benefit.

However, employees and employers can agree to different terms about intellectual property rights, royalties, bonuses or commissions.

Employers are also generally required to pay superannuation for their employees.

Learn more about:

• intellectual property (IP)
• employment offers and contracts
• superannuation

About employees and employers

About employees

Employees are paid a wage or salary for the work they do. They are legally entitled to minimum conditions and entitlements.

Employees may be asked to:

• wear a uniform
• attend work at a rostered time
• follow instructions or policies the employer sets.

For example, an employee might have to follow instructions or policies about:

• how to use work IT equipment or accounts
• how they communicate about work-related matters on social media.

About employers

Employers can be big or small. They can be:

• companies
• governments or local councils
• not-for-profits or charities
• self-employed artists or sole traders
• cooperatives or groups of collaborators.

Employers:

• control how, when and where work is done
• bear the risks for the activities of the business.

Employee minimum entitlements

There are legal minimum conditions and entitlements for employees.

It is unlawful for employers to offer employees less favourable terms than the legal minimums.

To work out what an employee’s minimum entitlements are, you need to know:

• which laws apply — e.g. federal laws (also called the national employment system or Fair Work system) or state laws (also called a state employment system)
• whether an award, enterprise agreement, or the minimum wage applies.

Which laws apply will also depend on:

• where the employer and employee are in Australia, and
• how the employer is set up legally (e.g. if they are a Pty Ltd company, or an independent contractor or partnership, etc.).

Our employee pay and conditions page has more information to help you work these things out.

Employment contracts cannot offer less than the legal minimums.

Learn more about:

• Employee pay and conditions
• Employment offers and contracts

Different types of employment arrangements

Employees can be engaged under different types of arrangements. For example:

• as full-time, part-time or casual employees
• as permanent or ongoing employees or on fixed term employment arrangements or under other arrangements for limited periods

Federal (national) and state laws may give different rights and obligations to these arrangements. Before employing someone or accepting a job under one of these arrangements, you can check with your relevant body to make sure laws are being complied with.

For employers and employees:

• in the national employment system — contact the Fair Work Ombudsman
• in a state employment system — contact the industrial relations commission or employment tribunal in your state (find contact details on our support for employment issues page).

Full-time employees

Full-time employees usually work for 38 hours per week. They can be ongoing or employed for a limited period.

A full-time employee’s working hours are usually regular. They can be set by agreement between the employer and the employee, or by an award or workplace agreement.

Full-time employees get paid annual leave, sick and carer’s leave, and family and domestic violence leave.

Full-time employees are usually entitled to written notice before their employment ends, or to be paid instead of being given notice.

Some full-time employees may also be entitled to redundancy pay if their employment ends because their employer no longer requires their job to be performed by anyone.

Part-time employees

Part-time employees usually work less than 38 hours per week. Like full-time employees, they can be ongoing or employed for a limited period.

A part-time employee’s working hours are usually regular (unlike casual employees). Their working hours can be set by agreement between the employer and employee, or by an award or enterprise agreement.

Part-time employees get similar entitlements to full-time employees. They get paid annual leave and sick and carer’s leave on a pro rata basis (based on the hours they work). They also get 10 days’ paid family and domestic violence leave.

Part-time employees are usually entitled to written notice before their employment ends, or to be paid instead of being given notice. Some part-time employees may also be entitled to redundancy pay if their employment ends because their employer no longer requires the job to be performed by anyone.

Casual employees

Casual employees are not full-time or part-time employees.

Casual employees usually receive a ‘casual loading’ or casual rate of pay instead of receiving various full-time or part-time employment conditions.

A person can be engaged as a causal if, when they start work:

• they don’t have a firm advance commitment to ongoing work with the employer (based on a number of factors)
• they’re entitled to a casual loading or specific casual rate of pay under an award, workplace agreement or their employment contract.

Employers don’t have to offer casual employees regular or the same hours each week. Casuals can choose to accept or reject work they are offered. If an award or a workplace agreement applies to a casual, it may set a minimum number of hours the casual can be asked to work. For example, a minimum of number of hours per day or shift.

Casual employees don’t get paid annual leave and sick and carer’s leave, but they do get unpaid carer’s leave and compassionate leave. They also get 10 paid days of family and domestic violence leave.

There are pathways for casual employees to become full-time or part-time employees, in some circumstances. Federal workplace laws require employers to provide casual employees with a Casual Employee Information Statement when starting employment.

Fixed term employment arrangements

A fixed term employment contract is an employment contract that ends after a defined period of time. They can be useful for short projects or to fill temporary positions.

A fixed-term employment contract is usually offered on a full-time or part-time basis. A full-time or part-time employee on a fixed term employment contract still accrues paid leave for the duration of their employment.

In the national employment system:

• there are limits on how long and how often fixed term contracts can be used or renewed for some employees
• employers are required to give these employees a Fixed Term Contract Information Statement when starting employment.

Other employment arrangements for limited periods

There are other employment arrangements that may apply to work for a limited period.