This month, the Fair Work Commission handed done a pretty important decision. Summed up in its most basic form, the decision means that a casual worker, already working regular hours for over a year, could request to be made a permanent employee in either a full-time, or a part-time capacity.

However, because the world can honestly be a pretty sucky place, it’s not quite as simple as working a couple of regular shifts for a year, requesting permanent employment and then presto, job security.

In fact, an employer can refuse a request if it would require a significant adjustment to the casual employee’s hours of work, if they could see that the position wouldn’t exist in a years’ time, or basically on any other reasonable. If that last one sounds pretty broad to you, you’re not alone, law firm Slater and Gordon have already foreseen that it could potentially be used by employers to refuse the request on feeble grounds because, well, they can.

But, it’s not all bad, this decision is actually a pretty solid start in addressing an “epidemic of insecure work” and those dirtbag employers who abuse the casual workers system to drive down wages. And even though those same dirtbag employees might be the ones using the broad terms to deny any request, it still shows that the Fair Work Commission are aware of our problems and are at least trying.

That’s nice and all, but why should I care?

Almost 40 per cent of all casual workers in Australia are under the age of 25, with the majority of those being students, so chances are if you’re a student with a job, you’re probably a casual.

A casual worker has no guaranteed hours of work, no paid leave (sick or annual), and unless stipulated can either end their employment, or have it ended for them, without notice. A permanent employee can expect regular hours each week, paid leave, and must give or receive notice to end the employment.

“…law firm Slater and Gordon have already foreseen that it could potentially be used by employers to refuse the request on feeble grounds because, well, they can.”

For some students, casual employment can be ideal. You can drop down working hours during exam time, or bugger off through breaks with minimal notice, and yet still have a job to come back to. Of course, the main benefit of being a casual is the casual loading, which bumps up your hourly wage between to make up for the fact the casual workers get the short straw in basically everything else.

But for those who need regular income for any variety of reason, more permanent hours and the knowledge that a cold isn’t going to leave you in massive debt, permanent employment is where it’s at.

So, what now?

When making the decision about what type of employment is right for you, it’s important to think about what you want: flexibility and a little bit more money, or job security and paid leave. But don’t worry, you have time. Just because the Fair Work Commission has made this decision, it doesn’t make it law, and if it does come into law in its current form, your employer is obligated to let you know your updated rights as a casual.

At the end of the day, if this decision goes through, it can only be a benefit. No one will force you to become permanent if you’re a happy casual, and no one can fire you for asking for permanence. It empowers casual workers to actually ask for their needs and it’s a step in the right direction for balancing the power scales between employees and employers.