What the 25% pays for
Casuals don’t get some things permanent staff do: paid annual leave, paid personal and carer’s leave, notice of termination and redundancy pay. The loading is paid instead, and it’s generally 25% on top of the minimum hourly rate (Fair Work). In hospo it’s in the award itself: “a loading of 25% in addition to the ordinary hourly rate” for each hour worked (Hospitality award, clause 11.1).
On a level 1 rate of $26.44, that’s $33.05 an hour, Monday to Friday. Weigh it against what you give up: four weeks of paid holiday a year is about 8% of a full-time year’s pay, and that’s before the 10 days of paid sick and carer’s leave.
How the loading sits inside weekend rates
On weekends and public holidays, the award gives casuals one rate that already has the loading in it. The 25% is added to the penalty, not multiplied by it: Saturday is 125% + 25% = 150% of base, not 125% × 1.25.
| When you work | Permanent | Casual | The loading adds |
|---|---|---|---|
| Monday to Friday | $26.44100% | $33.05125% | $6.61 |
| Saturday | $33.05125% | $39.66150% | $6.61 |
| Sunday | $39.66150% | $46.27175% | $6.61 |
| Public holiday | $59.49225% | $66.10250% | $6.61 |
At a restaurant or café the Restaurant award works differently on Sundays: casuals up to level 2 get 150%, the same as permanent staff, and 175% from level 3 (clause 24.2). At levels 1 and 2, the loading doesn’t show on a Sunday at all.
A casual week, worked out
- Monday to Friday16 h × $33.05
- $528.80
- Saturday6.5 h × $39.66
- $257.79
- Sunday7 h × $46.27
- $323.89
Pay before tax$1,110.48
Award rates are minimums, so a flat rate only works if it pays at least what the award would for the hours you actually worked. At $30.00, this week falls short by $225.48, and the weekday hours alone are already under the casual rate of $33.05. Run your own week in the hospitality pay calculator.
What casuals still get
The loading replaces paid leave, not every right. As a casual you still get:
- Unpaid carer’s leave: 2 days each time someone in your family or household is sick, injured or has an emergency (Fair Work).
- Compassionate leave: 2 days each time, unpaid for casuals (Fair Work).
- Paid family and domestic violence leave: 10 days a year, at your full pay, not cut back for casuals (Fair Work).
- Super at 12% on your ordinary earnings, penalty rates included, and the right to say no to an unreasonable public holiday shift.
Minimum shifts and maximum hours
- At least 2 hours, every time. A casual has to be engaged and paid for at least 2 consecutive hours each time they’re called in, under both awards (Hospitality award, clause 11.3).
- Up to 12 hours a day and 38 a week. Past that, or past an average of 38 over a roster cycle of up to 4 weeks, a casual on the Hospitality award is paid overtime (clauses 11.2 and 11.4).
- Hours by the day they fall on. A Friday night shift that runs past midnight is on Saturday rates from 12 am.
How to check it on your payslip
- Weekdays: your hourly rate should be at least the base rate plus 25%, $33.05 at level 1.
- Weekends and public holidays: those hours should sit on their own lines, at 150%, 175% and 250% of base at the pub.
- Super: it goes to your fund, not your bank account. Since Payday Super, check your fund’s app a week or so after each payday.
Casual or permanent: the rules since 2024
Since 26 August 2024, you’re a casual if, when you start, there’s no firm advance commitment to ongoing work, and you’re paid a casual loading or a casual rate (Fair Work).
After 6 months (12 with a small business, under 15 employees), you can tell your employer in writing that you want to go permanent, if you believe you no longer fit that definition: the “employee choice pathway” (Fair Work). If you work a regular roster, it may be worth doing the sums first: you’d lose the 25% and gain paid leave.