Casual loading

Casual loading is the percentage added to a casual employee's base hourly rate to compensate for the entitlements casuals don't receive — paid annual and personal leave, notice of termination, redundancy pay, and the security of guaranteed hours. The loading percentage is set by the applicable award or agreement; the Fair Work Ombudsman publishes the standard figure used across most awards.

How it works in practice

Who's casual: under the Fair Work Act, casual employment turns on the real substance of the relationship — no firm advance commitment to continuing work — not just the label on the contract.
On the payslip: the loading should be visible, either itemised or built into a clearly identified casual rate.
With penalties and overtime: whether loading compounds with weekend penalties or is added separately is set by each award's own rules — hospitality and retail answer this differently.
It isn't optional: a flat "all-in" rate that quietly absorbs the loading still has to actually cover it, every pay period.

The trade behind the loading

Loading is the price of flexibility, in both directions: the business gets adaptable hours, the employee gets paid for the entitlements they're giving up. When a casual's pattern stops being flexible and starts looking permanent, casual conversion enters the picture.

Casual terms of the applicable modern award and Fair Work Act 2009 (Cth) s 15A (definition of casual employee) — see the Fair Work Ombudsman.

Tommy shows each casual's actual pattern of shifts over time, so you can see when flexibility is real and when a regular rhythm has formed.

Related terms

Put a number on it: the free true shift cost calculator shows what a shift really costs once every premium and on-cost is applied.