As the new season gets underway, many farms bring extra people into the business — relief milkers, calf rearers, casual helpers, family members, neighbours, students, or people who can “just help out when needed”.
There is nothing wrong with using casual employment where the arrangement is genuinely casual. The problem comes when the label no longer matches the reality.
A casual employee should generally be working on an “as and when required” basis, with no guaranteed hours and no ongoing expectation of work. They should also be free to say no to work when it is offered. If someone is working regular days, being rostered in advance, expected to be available, or relied on as part of the normal team structure, the arrangement may no longer be truly casual. Employment New Zealand distinguishes casual employment from permanent part-time employment on exactly this basis — regular or guaranteed hours point away from casual employment.
This is a common issue in farming because roles often start small and informal. Someone might begin by covering the odd milking. Then they help every second weekend. Then they pick up regular calf-rearing shifts. Then they are on the roster, attending team meetings, covering leave, and expected to let the farm know if they are unavailable.
Before that point, it is worth pausing and asking: is this still casual?
The risk is not just technical. If the working pattern looks permanent or part-time in practice, the employee may be treated as having rights and expectations that do not match the agreement you have on file. That can create issues around leave, termination, notice, hours of work, and personal grievance risk.
A few useful questions to ask:
Are they working regular days or hours?
Are they on a roster?
Would it cause a problem if they said no to a shift?
Do they need to tell someone if they are unavailable?
Are they doing the same work week after week?
Are they being treated as part of the core team?
Has the arrangement continued for months rather than weeks?
If the answer to any of these is yes, it may be time to review the agreement.
The fix is usually straightforward: make sure the employment agreement matches the actual arrangement. That might mean moving someone from casual to permanent part-time, or setting up a fixed-term agreement if there is a genuine temporary need.
The key message is simple: casual agreements are useful, but only when the work is genuinely casual. If the pattern has changed, the paperwork should change too.
