When to bring casual employees into your workplace

What is a casual employee?

Casual employees in Canada are broadly characterized as working on a short-term or as-needed basis to meet business demands. There is typically an understanding that hours are not guaranteed, and work may be irregular or infrequent.

The term casual employment generally describes the nature of the working arrangement, while an employee’s rights and entitlements can differ greatly depending on your jurisdiction.

Our article What is casual employment in Canada? covers this in greater detail, so for the sake of this blog, we’ll assess whether casual employees are the right fit for your company using the broad characteristics typically associated with these workers across jurisdictions.

What circumstances typically call for casual employees?

Casual employees, often characterized by irregular, infrequent or non-guaranteed hours, can be well suited to a number of different circumstances. Some of the most common include:

• Short-term absence cover, such as sickness or vacation

• Sporadic long-term absence cover, such as maternity and parental leave

• Seasonal increases in business demand

• Additional support at short notice

For projects and other specialized work, a casual arrangement may be one option, but the label should not be assumed. Depending on the actual relationship, the worker could instead be a fixed-term employee, temporary employee, dependent contractor or independent contractor. Employment status depends on the facts of the relationship, not only the wording used by the parties.

Are casual employees right for your industry?

To consider every type of business in Canada would mean writing a blog that’ll wear out your mouse with its scroll depth. Variations in scale, budget, ethos and hours of operation will all be important factors when considering casual employees for your business.

We can, however, look at the typical operational requirements that might lead businesses in different industries to consider casual employees, so that’s what we’re going to do!

Retail

Experiencing some of the more intense seasonal fluctuations, retail businesses in Canada could benefit greatly from casual employees. As customer numbers start to increase during periods such as Black Friday and Christmas, your permanent staff might not be able to meet your business demands during these busy periods.

Casual employees can strengthen your workforce without requiring regularly scheduled hours week-on-week, leaving you room to keep your permanent staff working the hours they need.

Hospitality

While also experiencing significant seasonal fluctuations, especially in tourist-driven areas of Canada, hospitality businesses can face short-notice spikes in foot traffic. Having casual employees you can rely on means that when a big booking comes through or an event is being hosted at your venue, you can bolster your workforce with ease.

The flexibility of roles in hospitality also means you might not need every employee to be a highly skilled barista or bartender; these roles can be left to your permanent staff. Instead, casual employees can keep cashier, barback and other more general roles filled, leaving your permanent staff to maintain the quality of service your customers expect.

Healthcare

Temporary and short-term workers already play an important role in Canadian healthcare operations. Locum doctors are one example of short-term staffing already used within Canadian healthcare. Depending on the role and working arrangement, healthcare professionals may work as employees or independent contractors, while healthcare organizations can also bring in casual employees to help meet fluctuating staffing demands.

These arrangements don’t just extend to qualified medical practitioners. Administrators, cleaners, receptionists and more can be brought in during busy periods or when significant cover for permanent staff is required to keep your healthcare operation running smoothly.

Construction

Construction businesses often need additional capacity for short-term projects or specialized work. However, project-based or specialized workers are not automatically casual employees. Depending on the actual relationship, they may be fixed-term employees, temporary employees, dependent contractors or independent contractors. Employers should assess and document the arrangement based on the work being performed and the legal tests that apply in their jurisdiction.

Because construction projects vary greatly in scope, a flexible workforce can be valuable. A foundational team of permanent employees can provide continuity in planning and project management, while appropriately classified casual, temporary or fixed-term employees can add capacity or specialized skills when required.

Logistics

From courier roles and truck drivers to warehouse employees, the use case for casual employees in the logistics industry is clear. Short-notice spikes in workload are common, with seasonal increases in demand also having a significant impact on logistics operations.

While some businesses rely on self-employed workers for gig-based arrangements, if your logistics operations depend on a permanent workforce, introducing casual employees could help you manage seasonal demand without relying on a gig-work model.

Corporate

The scope of corporate roles is incredibly vast, but businesses across all industries experience maternity and parental leave, sickness and other types of long- and short-term absence. Casual employees can help you fill in the gaps when these situations arise and maintain productivity throughout the year.

Introducing casual employees to your workplace

When hiring a casual employee, remember that casual employees are not a rights-free category. Applicable federal, provincial or territorial employment standards generally continue to apply, subject to eligibility rules and exemptions. A lack of guaranteed hours should not be treated as permission to stop offering work indefinitely without considering possible termination obligations under employment standards legislation, the employment agreement and, where applicable, the common law.

Approach the hiring process with the same care used for permanent employees. Clearly document the nature of the arrangement, pay, scheduling expectations, benefits and statutory entitlements, and the workplace policies that apply. Review the arrangement if the work becomes regular, predictable or ongoing, as the practical relationship may no longer match the original casual label.

How to manage casual employees

As you start to integrate casual employees into your business model, HR tasks like scheduling, absence management, expense tracking and more can increase in scope.

You can scale up your operations with ease by integrating an HR software solution into your business.

With BrightHR, you can keep a database of your employees and create custom shift patterns and schedules with drag-and-drop functionality to make employee scheduling a breeze. Onboard new casual employees with expert-created documentation, and if you're ever in doubt, you can contact an HR expert for one-on-one advice, 24/7.

Get started today