# Casual or Part-Time: Which Pays More Over a Year? > Casual usually pays more per hour; part-time includes paid leave. Compare a year of each, see what the 25% casual loading stands in for and find the hours where part-time pulls ahead. Canonical HTML: https://getclova.com/blog/casual-vs-part-time Clova is an Australian budgeting app. [Join the waitlist](https://getclova.com/) [Home](https://getclova.com/) → [Guides](https://getclova.com/blog) → [Life costs](https://getclova.com/blog/topic/life-costs) → [Casual or Part-Time: Which Pays More Over a Year?](https://getclova.com/blog/casual-vs-part-time) - Author: Marnix - Published: 2026-09-17 The casual job pays $37.50 an hour and the part-time one pays $30, for the same work in the same shop. On the offer, that looks like an easy choice. The two rates are paying for different things, though. Part of the casual rate is money for the weeks you won't be paid, and the part-time rate keeps paying through them. Putting a whole year of each side by side shows which one ends up ahead, and what it depends on. ## What the casual loading pays for A **casual** job has no firm commitment to ongoing work: your employer offers shifts when they need you, and you can accept or turn them down. A **part-time** job has regular hours, fewer than 38 a week, and comes with paid leave. Because casuals miss out on paid leave, they're paid extra to make up for it. This **casual loading** is generally 25% on top of the [minimum hourly rate](/blog/minimum-wage), and the casual rates in awards and job ads usually include it already. Here's what each kind of job gets under the minimum rules for most employees in Australia: | | Casual | Part-time | | ------------------------------- | --------------------------------------- | --------------------------------------------- | | Hourly rate | Base rate plus a loading, generally 25% | Base rate | | Annual leave | None paid | 4 weeks a year, paid | | Sick and carer's leave | Unpaid carer's leave only | Paid, in proportion to your hours | | A public holiday you don't work | Unpaid | Paid, if it falls on one of your usual days | | Hours | Offered shift by shift | Agreed in advance, usually the same each week | | If the job ends | No notice or redundancy pay | Notice; redundancy pay if eligible | Both get [employer super](/blog/super-first-job) at 12% of the earnings that count for super, and the casual loading counts, so a casual's super grows with the loading. Your award or agreement can add to any line in that table, so the [award rates guide](/blog/award-rates) is the place to check what yours says. ## A year of each, side by side Sam, who's made up, has been offered both versions of the same retail job: 20 hours a week as a casual at $37.50 an hour, or as a part-timer at $30. Either way, Sam plans to take 4 weeks off across the year. As a part-timer, those 4 weeks are paid annual leave. Many awards also add [leave loading](/blog/leave-loading) of 17.5% to the pay for leave, and Sam's does. As a casual, the same 4 weeks simply have no pay. The same 48 weeks of work, paid two ways (Sam, made up, 20 hours a week, before tax): | | Hourly rate | Weeks paid | Year (AUD) | | --- | ---: | --- | ---: | | Casual | $37.50 | 48 weeks worked; 4 weeks off unpaid | $36,000 | | Part-time | $30 | All 52 weeks, with 17.5% leave loading on the 4 weeks off | $31,620 | Public holidays and sick days are left out. Over the year, the casual job comes out about $4,380 ahead before tax, even after paying nothing for the month off. The 25% loading is bigger than the paid leave it stands in for, as long as Sam works every shift in those 48 weeks. Paid sick leave and unworked [public holidays](/blog/public-holiday-pay) on Sam's usual workdays favour part-time. At $187.50 for a five-hour shift, it takes about 24 missed shifts to close that gap. ## The hours decide it The bigger risk for a casual is the hours themselves. A casual roster can shrink in a quiet month with no notice, and nothing in the rate makes up for shifts that aren't offered. A part-timer has agreed hours, with changes governed by their award or agreement. Working back from Sam's numbers gives the point where the two years match. Below about 17½ hours a week, part-time pays more. At an average of about 17½ casual hours a week across Sam's 48 working weeks, the casual year matches the part-time year of $31,620. Above it, casual pays more; Sam's offer is 20 hours. Alongside the hourly rate, ask how many hours casuals have actually been getting. Someone who already works there, or a few months of the roster, will tell you more than the job ad. If the hours swing a lot from week to week, the [casual pay planner](/tools/casual-pay-planner) shows what a lighter fortnight leaves you. ## What the yearly total doesn't show A bigger total isn't the only thing that matters in a year. Paid sick leave means a week of flu doesn't also become a week without pay. Steady hours help with bills; notice and any redundancy entitlement help if the job ends. Casual work has its own advantages. You can turn down a shift for an exam, a trip or a second job, which is why casual work often fits around study. Neither kind of job is the better one for everyone; it comes down to which risk you'd rather carry. ## Paying yourself the leave as a casual As a casual, part of every pay is really money for the weeks you won't work. Setting it aside as it comes in means a week off, or a week when you're sick, isn't a week with nothing coming in. Sam's 4 weeks off would have paid $3,000 at casual rates. Putting $125 aside from each of the 24 fortnightly pays across the 48 working weeks covers it, and Sam still comes out ahead of the part-time year. Our guide to [budgeting on a casual income](/blog/budgeting-irregular-income) shows how to plan the rest of a pay that changes. Clova can track a goal for time off, with an amount planned from each pay. Clova is an Australian budgeting app. Join the waitlist and we’ll be in touch. [Join the waitlist](https://getclova.com/) ## Asking to become permanent Regular hours as a casual can be a reason to ask for a change. Once you've been in the job 6 months, or 12 months with a small business, you can give your employer written notice that you'd like to become part-time or full-time, if your job no longer fits the casual definition. Your employer can refuse only for certain reasons, and Fair Work's page on [becoming a permanent employee](https://www.fairwork.gov.au/starting-employment/types-of-employees/casual-employees/becoming-a-permanent-employee) explains them. You can also agree a change with your employer at any time. Before asking, it's worth running your own numbers the way Sam's are run above. With steady hours, permanent work trades the loading for paid weeks off and pay that doesn't stop when you're sick. Whichever you choose, the number to plan around is the pay that actually lands, not the hourly rate on the offer. [Take-home pay](/blog/take-home-pay) explains how that's worked out, and from there you can give each pay its jobs. ## A note from us A higher hourly rate is easy to compare and a year of pay is not, which is why the casual offer so often looks like the obvious one. We are building Clova, a budgeting app that shows what each pay has to cover, including a goal for weeks without shifts. ## Common questions ### Is casual loading included in the hourly rate? Usually, yes. A casual rate in an award, agreement or job ad normally already includes the loading, so $37.50 an hour on a $30 base rate is the whole rate. Your payslip may show it as one casual rate or as the base rate plus a separate loading line. ### Do casuals get penalty rates on weekends? Often, yes. Casuals can be entitled to penalty rates for times such as weekends and evenings, and to overtime, depending on their award or agreement. A published casual weekend rate usually already includes the casual loading, so it isn't added a second time. ### How many hours is part-time work? Anything under 38 hours a week, usually the same hours each week. Leave builds up in proportion to your hours, so 20 hours a week earns 80 hours of paid annual leave a year. Many awards also require your employer to keep a record of your agreed part-time hours. ### Can a casual work regular or full-time hours? Yes. Being casual is about having no firm commitment to ongoing work, not about how many hours you do. A regular pattern of shifts on its own doesn't make a job permanent, though it's one of the things weighed if you ask to change. ### What should my employer give me when I start as a casual? A Casual Employment Information Statement, before or soon after you start, along with the Fair Work Information Statement. It explains what casual means and how to ask to become permanent, and you get it again at set points, such as after 12 months. ## Sources 1. [Casual employees](https://www.fairwork.gov.au/starting-employment/types-of-employees/casual-employees) · Fair Work Ombudsman 2. [Your guide to casual employment](https://www.fairwork.gov.au/sites/default/files/2025-03/fg-your-guide-to-casual-employment.pdf) · Fair Work Ombudsman 3. [Part-time employees](https://www.fairwork.gov.au/starting-employment/types-of-employees/part-time-employees) · Fair Work Ombudsman 4. [Annual leave](https://www.fairwork.gov.au/leave/annual-leave) · Fair Work Ombudsman 5. [Payment for annual leave](https://www.fairwork.gov.au/leave/annual-leave/payment-for-annual-leave) · Fair Work Ombudsman 6. [Sick and carer's leave](https://www.fairwork.gov.au/leave/sick-and-carers-leave) · Fair Work Ombudsman 7. [Becoming a permanent employee](https://www.fairwork.gov.au/starting-employment/types-of-employees/casual-employees/becoming-a-permanent-employee) · Fair Work Ombudsman 8. [Casual Employment Information Statement](https://www.fairwork.gov.au/employment-conditions/information-statements/casual-employment-information-statement) · Fair Work Ombudsman 9. [Qualifying earnings and 12% super guarantee, 2026–27](https://www.ato.gov.au/businesses-and-organisations/super-for-employers/paying-super-on-payday/what-payments-are-qualifying-earnings) · Australian Taxation Office ## Related reading - [How to budget when your casual income changes](https://getclova.com/blog/budgeting-irregular-income) - [Your first payslip, explained line by line](https://getclova.com/blog/payslip-explained) - [Public Holiday Pay for Casual and Part-Time Workers](https://getclova.com/blog/public-holiday-pay) [Report a correction](https://getclova.com/contact) This guide explains a budgeting method in general terms; it doesn't consider your circumstances.