Can Casual Employees Take Unpaid Sick Leave?

A casual employee who is ill may need to be absent from an offered or accepted shift, and that time will ordinarily be unpaid. However, Australia's National Employment Standards do not give casuals a general leave entitlement called “unpaid sick leave” in the same way they give full-time and part-time employees paid personal leave.

Casuals instead receive a casual loading or specific casual rate and do not accumulate paid sick leave under the National Employment Standards. They do receive certain other leave entitlements, including unpaid carer's leave in eligible circumstances.

The label matters because illness absence, unpaid carer's leave and the ability to accept or reject a future casual shift are legally different issues. An award, enterprise agreement, contract or employer policy may also provide something more generous.

This guide focuses on casual illness absence. For the wider minimum entitlements, read Sick Leave Entitlements in Australia.

This is general workplace information, not legal or medical advice. Casual arrangements and dismissal protections are fact-specific. Seek advice from the Fair Work Ombudsman, a union or a workplace relations professional where shifts stop or an absence is disputed.

Key Points

• Casual employees do not receive paid sick or carer's leave under the National Employment Standards.
• A casual who cannot work because of illness should notify the employer as soon as possible.
• An illness-related absence will ordinarily be unpaid unless a more generous entitlement applies.
• The National Employment Standards specifically give casuals two days of unpaid carer's leave per eligible occasion.
• Unpaid carer's leave is not leave for the casual employee's own illness.
• An employer may reasonably seek evidence for an illness absence or under workplace rules.
• Evidence can also be important to temporary-absence protections.
• A casual should not attend work if illness makes the shift unsafe merely because no paid leave is available.

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The Difference Between No Pay and a Leave Entitlement

When a casual misses work because they are sick, they will usually not be paid for hours not worked. In everyday conversation, people may call that “unpaid sick leave.”

Technically, the National Employment Standards list specific casual entitlements but do not create a general bank of unpaid sick leave for the casual's own illness. The Fair Work Ombudsman's casual employee guidance confirms that casuals do not get most paid leave and lists the unpaid leave they do receive.

Check whether the award, enterprise agreement or contract adds a separate entitlement. The National Employment Standards are minimums, not a ban on more favourable terms.

What to Do If You Are Too Sick for an Accepted Shift

Tell the employer as soon as possible, using the required reporting method. State that you are unable to work, identify the affected shift and give an estimate of the absence length.

If symptoms worsen or another shift is affected, provide an update. Do not rely on a message to a co-worker if policy requires a call to the manager or roster contact.

Ask whether evidence is required. A medical certificate or statutory declaration may be relevant, depending on the workplace instrument, policy and circumstances.

Do not attend while contagious or impaired in a role where that creates a safety risk. Seek urgent care for severe symptoms and call 000 for an emergency.

Can a Casual Reject a Shift Because They Are Sick?

Casual employment generally involves no firm advance commitment to ongoing work, and whether the employee can accept or reject offered work is one factor in identifying a genuine casual relationship.

The Fair Work Ombudsman gives an example of a casual who receives offered shifts and can decide whether to accept them. Actual arrangements differ, and a future shift not yet accepted is different from a shift already accepted or rostered under established practice.

If a shift has been accepted, the employee should notify illness rather than simply not appear. The contract, award and workplace process may regulate cancellations and notice.

Casuals Do Get Unpaid Carer's Leave

All employees, including casuals, can access two days of unpaid carer's leave per occasion when an immediate family or household member needs care or support because of illness, injury or an unexpected emergency.

The entitlement concerns another eligible person's circumstances, not the casual's own illness. A casual with influenza is absent because of their own health; a casual caring for a child with influenza may be using unpaid carer's leave.

The Fair Work Ombudsman sick and carer's leave overview confirms that casuals receive two days of unpaid carer's leave per occasion.

Notice and evidence requirements apply. The leave can be taken as a continuous period or as separate periods by agreement, according to the National Employment Standards rules.

Can an Employer Ask a Casual for a Medical Certificate?

A casual may still be asked for evidence explaining an illness absence, even though the shift is unpaid. Evidence can support compliance with the workplace's absence process and may be relevant to legal protections.

The request should be reasonable and consistent with any award, agreement, contract or policy. The employer should not assume that every casual can obtain same-day in-person care, but the worker should not ignore a known evidence requirement.

A medical certificate is not necessarily the only possible evidence. A statutory declaration may be relevant in some contexts, although the applicable workplace rule should be checked.

Read Medical Certificates for Casual Employees for the documentation question and When Is a Medical Certificate Required in Australia? for broader evidence rules.

Temporary Absence Protections

Employees may be protected from dismissal because of a temporary absence due to illness or injury when statutory requirements are met. This protection is separate from whether the absence is paid.

The Fair Work Ombudsman guidance on long periods of sick leave explains that employees who provide evidence may be protected where the absence is less than three consecutive months or less than three months in total over the preceding 12 months, or while using paid sick leave.

The underlying Fair Work Regulations include requirements involving a medical certificate, statutory declaration or compliance with a workplace instrument's notice and evidence terms.

Protection is not a guarantee that every casual will receive future shifts, and other eligibility or dismissal issues can arise. Get prompt advice if an employer says the relationship has ended because of an illness absence.

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What If the Illness Lasts for Several Shifts?

Keep the employer informed about the expected duration and provide updated evidence where reasonably required. Do not allow an initial “one shift” message to become unexplained non-attendance for a week.

A practitioner may recommend a period away from work, follow-up, tests or an in-person assessment. The worker should focus on recovery and comply with appropriate care advice.

Long absence rules are complex. The statutory temporary-absence protection can change after more than three months of absence, while disability discrimination, workers compensation, unfair dismissal or other protections may still be relevant.

Seek advice early rather than waiting until shifts have ceased. Keep rosters, messages, certificates and records of any reason the employer gives.

What If the Illness or Injury Happened at Work?

A workplace illness or injury may engage a state, territory or Commonwealth workers compensation process. Report it promptly under workplace procedures and seek appropriate medical care.

Casual status does not automatically exclude a worker from workers compensation. Eligibility, payments, certificates of capacity and return-to-work requirements depend on the applicable scheme.

A general medical certificate may not be the form the insurer requires. Ask the employer, insurer or workers compensation authority for the correct process.

Do not agree to misclassify a workplace injury as an ordinary absence without understanding the implications. Obtain union or legal advice if reporting is discouraged.

Does Casual Loading Pay for the Sick Day?

Casual loading is generally paid on hours worked as compensation for certain entitlements casuals do not receive, such as paid annual and sick leave. It is not a separate balance that can be claimed when a shift is missed.

If the casual works no hours during the illness absence, there are usually no ordinary wages or loading for that shift. Check any minimum engagement issue if the worker attended and was then sent home.

The Fair Work paid sick leave page confirms that the National Employment Standards paid entitlement is for employees other than casuals.

An enterprise agreement or employer policy may still provide paid wellbeing or sick leave to casuals. If it does, follow those specific accrual and evidence rules.

Examples

Accepted hospitality shift: Jordan develops a fever before an accepted Saturday shift. Jordan phones the roster manager promptly, follows the evidence policy and is not paid for the hours not worked.

Future offered shift: Alex is offered work for next Thursday but is undergoing treatment and cannot commit. Alex declines the offer under the genuine casual arrangement rather than accepting and later failing to attend.

Sick child: Morgan needs to care for a child with an acute illness. Morgan may use unpaid carer's leave because the absence is for an eligible caring need.

Workplace injury: Riley is injured during a warehouse shift and cannot work the following roster. Riley reports the incident and checks the workers compensation pathway rather than treating it only as ordinary unpaid absence.

Practical Checklist for Casual Employees

• Notify the correct workplace contact as soon as possible.
• Identify each accepted or rostered shift affected.
• State the expected absence length and provide updates.
• Ask what evidence is reasonably required.
• Check the award, agreement, contract and absence policy.
• Report workplace injuries through the correct process.
• Keep copies of rosters, messages and evidence.
• Seek advice if shifts stop after a documented illness absence.

For evidence consequences, see What Happens If You Do Not Provide a Medical Certificate? and Medical Certificate Rules in Australia.

Health Comes Before the Shift

A lack of paid leave can place real financial pressure on casual workers, but attending while unfit can worsen illness or create risks for colleagues, customers and the public.

Seek medical advice appropriate to the symptoms. Severe breathing difficulty, chest pain, signs of stroke, major bleeding, severe allergic reaction or sudden collapse require emergency care.

A practitioner cannot decide the casual employment dispute, but can assess health, provide treatment advice and consider evidence where clinically appropriate.

Community health, urgent care, pharmacy advice and other services may be relevant depending on the problem. Do not use an online certificate request when physical or emergency assessment is needed.

More of Our Services

Using Dociva

Dociva can assess a casual employee's medical certificate request where telehealth is clinically suitable. Provide symptoms, onset, affected shifts, duties and the employer's evidence requirement.

The practitioner decides whether a certificate can be issued, whether more information is needed or whether in-person or urgent care is appropriate. No certificate is guaranteed.

Dociva does not provide backdated medical certificates. A certificate documents a clinical assessment; it does not create paid sick leave or decide whether the employer complied with workplace law.

Where suitable, start with the medical certificate application. You can also review sick leave information, what a medical certificate is and online certificate requirements.

Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)