Casual Workers 

Clubs and Class Associations will often engage casual workers, it is therefore important to know the legal principles governing this type of relationship.

A casual worker is employed occasionally, with no continuing contract. There is no agreement as to whether or when any work is to be offered. If work is offered and accepted the contract is only to provide work for that day, session or period. There is no obligation on the employer to offer work or the worker to accept it on any other occasion, or for the employer to provide any minimum amount of work or pay. There is no mutuality of obligation, and without this there can be no contract of employment.

If there is an ongoing contract extending beyond one week (with a week running from Sunday to Saturday), the person is an employee, rather than a casual worker, even if the work is very part-time. In one case, a person who was contracted to work 5 1/2 hours on alternate Fridays was held to be an employee.

Even where the employer treats a series of contracts as separate casual contracts, the worker may be defined by the tribunal as an employee if in fact the person is regularly offered work at least once in every week and does not have the right to turn it down when it is offered. In one clear-cut case, a woman who had worked for a housing association for nine months on a series of one-day contracts was held to be an employee.

Legal advice may be necessary to clarify whether a worker is in fact:

• an employee who works fluctuating hours, perhaps under a zero-hours contract;
• a very part-time employee, but one with an ongoing obligation to work for the organisation, as in the Fridays example above;
• a person who started out as a casual but whose relationship with the organisation has become an employment relationship, as in the housing association case above;
• a self-employed worker undertaking occasional work for the organisation;
• a genuine casual worker who is outside the scope of a contract of employment because there is no mutuality of obligation.

Even if casual workers are not legally employees for the purpose of employment rights:

• they are workers (unless they are genuinely self-employed) and are entitled to the rights that workers have (see below); and
• PAYE must be operated unless the person earns less than the tax and national insurance thresholds and has no other taxable earnings, or is genuinely self-employed.

Organisations which do not want casual workers to be legally employees should make very clear, in writing, that work will be offered on an 'as required' basis and there is no obligation on the part of the organisation to offer any work, and the worker is free to refuse any offer of work.

An organisation which uses casuals should draw up a contract which explicitly states that it applies each time the worker is offered and accepts work. Legal advice should be sought to ensure that the contract as written does not inadvertently create a contract of employment.

If you require further assistance please do not hesitate to contact the Legal Team Tel: 0844 5569519 Email: legal@rya.org.uk.