What is casual employment? Your rights on ad hoc shifts
A casual contract can leave you waiting for work. It cannot wipe out your rights to wages and holiday. Here is what you can claim, and where the gaps remain.
You cover the care home’s shortages, clean the hotel rooms or unload the warehouse deliveries. Then the shifts dry up. “Casual” describes how the employer offers work, not whether you deserve to be paid properly. Your legal status decides your rights, and the label on your contract does not settle it.
- £12.71
- minimum hourly rate for ages 21+, April 2026
- 12.07%
- holiday accrual for qualifying irregular-hours and part-year workers
- £123.25
- weekly SSP maximum from 6 April 2026
- 12 weeks
- agency qualifying period for equal basic working conditions
Casual is not a legal status
Casual employment usually means work offered as needed, such as bar shifts, care-bank cover or seasonal picking. It does not promise regular hours.
The main categories are employee, worker and self-employed. Employees also have worker rights. Agency work is a supply arrangement, not a separate status. GOV.UK’s guidance explains the distinction.
A tribunal considers the actual relationship as well as the contract. You can be a worker or employee during accepted shifts, or an employee under an ongoing contract between them.
Work out whether you are a worker, employee or self-employed
These questions identify evidence to take to an adviser. Status depends on the whole relationship, not a tally of ticks.
Do you have to do the work yourself?
A housekeeper who must attend personally, follows a supervisor’s instructions and uses the hotel’s equipment has evidence of worker or employee status. Running a genuine business for your own clients is different. Invoices do not settle the question.
A real right to send a substitute matters. A clause the employer does not honour proves little. Save messages showing who chooses your hours and what happens if you cannot attend.
What happens between shifts?
Continuing work obligations and employer control can point to an employment contract across gaps. Regular rotas are evidence, not proof. Freedom to refuse the next offer does not rule out employee status during an accepted shift.
Rights you have as a casual worker
| Right | Worker, but not employee | Employee |
|---|---|---|
| Minimum wage and paid holiday | Yes | Yes |
| Working-time protections | Yes, subject to exceptions | Yes, subject to exceptions |
| Statutory Sick Pay | Possible under the separate SSP definition | Yes, if SSP conditions are met |
| Principal written statement | On or before the first day | On or before the first day |
| Itemised payslip | Yes | Yes |
| Protection against exclusivity terms | For zero-hours and qualifying low-income contracts | For zero-hours and qualifying low-income contracts |
| Ordinary unfair dismissal protection | No | Normally after two years’ continuous employment as at 1 October 2026 |
| Statutory redundancy pay | No | Normally after two years’ continuous employment |
| Statutory family leave and flexible-working requests | No, although statutory family pay may be available | Yes, subject to the rules for each right |
Your principal written statement should explain pay, hours and how they vary. A payslip must show hours where pay varies by time worked. The government’s rights guide covers these protections.
Discrimination protection covers employees, workers and some self-employed people contracted to work personally, without qualifying service. Part-time workers must not be treated less favourably than comparable full-timers because they work part-time, unless objectively justified. Check pension treatment as well as pay and holiday.
Rest between shifts still matters
For most adult workers, the usual rules are a 20-minute break when you work more than six hours, 11 hours’ daily rest and weekly rest. The average working week is normally limited to 48 hours unless you opt out. Exceptions and compensatory-rest rules can matter in care and other round-the-clock services. A casual rota does not itself remove these protections. See our rest-break guide and working-time rules.
Minimum wage, travel time and second jobs
From 1 April 2026, the minimum hourly rates are £12.71 for ages 21 and over, £10.85 for ages 18 to 20, and £8.00 for under-18s who have reached school-leaving age. The £8.00 apprentice rate applies to apprentices under 19, or aged 19 and over in their first year. Older apprentices who have completed that year get their age rate.
Count all time that qualifies as work. For hourly paid staff this can include required waiting time, training and travel between care visits. Ordinary travel between home and work does not count. GOV.UK’s working-time guidance gives care-worker examples.
Sleep-ins need a separate check. Being required to stay on the premises is not enough by itself. If you are expected to sleep and suitable sleeping facilities are provided, generally only time when you are awake for the purpose of working counts towards minimum wage. A shift spent working, even if you can sometimes doze, can be different.
Example: unpaid travel puts a carer below minimum wage
A carer aged 21 or over earns £13 an hour for visits. In one weekly pay period she works 20 contact hours and spends 5 hours travelling directly between visits. Assume there are no other payments or deductions. She receives £260 for 25 hours that count. That is £10.40 an hour. At the £12.71 minimum she should receive at least £317.75, leaving £57.75 unpaid.
In Great Britain, a zero-hours contract cannot enforce a term banning you from another job or requiring permission to take one. The protection also extends to certain low-income contracts under the 2022 exclusivity regulations. These use an earnings test, so do not assume every casual contract qualifies. Dismissal or other detrimental treatment for breaching a protected exclusivity term can be challenged. Read our guide to second jobs and exclusivity.
Holiday pay for irregular hours
Workers are entitled to statutory paid holiday. For a full leave year, the standard entitlement is 5.6 weeks, capped at 28 days. Irregular-hours and part-year workers covered by the special rules accrue holiday at 12.07% of hours worked in each pay period, for leave years beginning on or after 1 April 2024. Separate calculations preserve accrual during sickness and statutory family leave.
“Irregular hours” has a legal definition. Under the contract, paid hours in each pay period must be wholly or mostly variable. A fixed rotating rota is not necessarily irregular. A part-year worker has periods of at least a week during the contract when they are not required to work and are not paid for that time. The casual label alone proves neither category.
For these two groups only, the employer can use rolled-up holiday pay for qualifying leave years. It adds 12.07% of total pay for work in the pay period, separately itemised and on top of normal pay. You still have the right to take leave. The employer cannot replace rest with an extra payment and keep you working all year.
Example: rolled-up holiday pay for a bank carer
A bank carer aged 21 or over qualifies as an irregular-hours worker and earns £12.71 an hour. She works 24 hours in a weekly pay period, with no other pay. Basic pay is 24 × £12.71 = £305.04. Holiday pay is £305.04 × 12.07% = £36.82, rounded to the nearest penny. Gross pay is £341.86. The payslip must show the £36.82 holiday addition separately.
Without rolled-up pay, you get paid when taking holiday. For irregular-hours and part-year workers, this normally averages the previous 52 paid weeks, looking back no more than 104 weeks and excluding sickness or statutory-leave weeks. Use fewer weeks if necessary. No holiday line on a normal working week’s payslip does not prove underpayment.
Employers must keep holiday records for at least six years from 6 April 2026. Keep your own copies. The government’s guidance explains the calculations; our holiday-pay guide covers taking leave.
Sick pay without an earnings floor
Since 6 April 2026, eligible staff get Statutory Sick Pay from the first qualifying day of sickness. There are no waiting days and no minimum-earnings threshold. The weekly amount is the lower of £123.25 or 80% of average weekly earnings, for up to 28 weeks.
PAYE does not guarantee entitlement. SSP’s employee definition can include casual and agency staff who are workers for other rights. You must have done some work for the employer, be sick for at least one full working day and meet the other SSP conditions.
Short engagements can limit entitlement. Under HMRC’s casual-work rules, without three months’ continuous employment, SSP generally ends with the agreed work, including accepted further assignments. With that service, the contract is generally treated as indefinite unless it says otherwise. SSP continuity is different from continuity for dismissal rights.
Example: a kitchen porter calls in sick
An eligible porter has average weekly earnings of £254.20 and five qualifying days a week. He is sick for three of those days. 80% of his earnings is £203.36, so the lower £123.25 weekly rate applies. SSP is £123.25 ÷ 5 × 3 = £73.95. Before April 2026, a standalone three-day absence attracted no SSP because of the waiting days. An eligible retail worker averaging £95 a week now has a weekly SSP rate of £76.
Report sickness promptly. If the employer sets no deadline, tell them within seven days. If refused SSP, ask for form SSP1 and advice. “Casual staff do not get sick pay” is not an adequate explanation. See our sick-pay guide.
When casual shifts count towards employee rights
As at 1 October 2026, ordinary unfair dismissal protection normally requires employee status and two years’ continuous employment. Statutory redundancy pay also normally requires two years. Discrimination claims and many automatically unfair dismissal claims do not require that service. Workers who are not employees cannot claim ordinary unfair dismissal.
A gap does not automatically reset service. An ongoing employment contract may cover it, and statutory rules can bridge temporary cessations of work or gaps covered by certain arrangements or customs. Save records from the whole period. Do not accept that two years of cover count for nothing without advice.
The qualifying period for ordinary unfair dismissal is scheduled to fall to six months from 1 January 2027. It remains an employee right. The timeline below separates current and future law.
We think the ability to stop offering work puts too much power in the employer’s hands. A right to refuse shifts means little if you cannot risk losing next week’s income. Before a dispute, ask a union about support for your sector. USDAW organises retail staff; Unite, GMB and UNISON cover many hospitality, logistics and care workplaces; IWGB represents groups including couriers and outsourced workers. Check which union organises your workplace and its rules on help with existing disputes.
Casual, zero-hours, agency and gig work
Zero-hours contracts guarantee no hours; bank lists provide staff for cover. Seasonal or fixed-term employment can run continuously until a set end date. Temporary work does not remove employee rights. See our guides to zero-hours contracts and seasonal work.
Agency staff have day-one access to collective facilities, subject to objective justification, and vacancy information. After a 12-week qualifying period in the same role with the same hirer, they normally gain equal basic conditions, including pay and holiday. Not every permanent-staff benefit is covered. The Agency Workers Regulations guidance explains which breaks affect qualification.
An app does not decide status either. Some platform workers have established worker status, but that does not cover every rider or driver. Get advice about your platform’s control and personal-service requirements.
What the Employment Rights Act changes, and when
The Employment Rights Act 2025 became law on 18 December 2025. Its measures have different start dates. The Acas timeline confirms the position as at 1 October 2026.
- In force: sick pay and holiday records
SSP waiting days and the earnings floor were removed. Employers must keep holiday records for at least six years. Paternity leave and ordinary unpaid parental leave became day-one employee rights, but statutory pay has separate qualifying rules.
- In force: Fair Work Agency established
The agency brings together existing enforcement bodies and has a remit extending to rights such as holiday pay and SSP. Its creation does not guarantee payment in an individual dispute. Do not let an enforcement complaint make you miss a tribunal deadline.
- In force: longer tribunal limits
Most claims concerning problems on or after this date have six months less a day. Earlier problems generally retain three months less a day. Scottish breach-of-contract claims have a separate change date.
- Scheduled: stronger harassment protections
Employers will have to take all reasonable steps to prevent sexual harassment. They will also be liable for third-party harassment unless they have taken all reasonable steps to prevent it. This matters when customers harass bar, shop and care staff.
- Scheduled: unfair dismissal after six months
The qualifying service for ordinary unfair dismissal is due to fall from two years to six months, and the compensation cap is due to be removed. Employers are also due to tell workers about their right to join a union.
Underpaid or cut from the rota? Start here
- Save the evidence. Record hours worked, travel between assignments, required waiting and training. Keep payslips, your contract, cancelled-shift messages and screenshots of rotas before access disappears.
- Ask for the calculation in writing. For example, “My payslip for this week includes 20 hours of care visits but not the 5 hours travelling between them. Please explain the minimum wage calculation and correct any underpayment.” You can ask for a reply within seven days. That is a suggested response period, not a legal deadline.
- Choose the enforcement route. For minimum wage, use the GOV.UK pay and work-rights route for advice and reporting. It is separate from a tribunal claim. For holiday or sick-pay disputes, ask Acas about the available enforcement route and whether you also need a claim. Do not assume an official complaint pauses time.
- Get support before confronting the employer alone. Contact your union, Acas, Citizens Advice or a law centre. A worker-status dispute may need legal advice. Explain if you fear losing shifts or if your visa depends on the employer. Check eligibility for free legal help rather than assuming representation is covered.
- Notify Acas before the tribunal limit expires. For most GB claims, a problem before 1 October 2026 generally has a limit of three months less a day; a problem on or after that date generally has six months less a day. Timely early conciliation pauses the clock. A grievance does not. Ask an adviser to calculate the deadline for repeated deductions, discrimination or dismissal.
Example: two unpaid wages dates, two different clocks
Before allowing for early conciliation, a wages problem on 30 September 2026 normally has a deadline of 29 December 2026. A problem on 1 October 2026 normally has a deadline of 31 March 2027. These are the examples in Acas’s time-limit guidance. Do not apply the newer limit to an older deduction without advice.
Some cases have much shorter deadlines. An interim-relief application in certain unfair dismissal cases has a seven-day limit. If shifts disappear after whistleblowing or union activity, seek advice immediately. Read our tribunal-claim guide for the process.
Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland
This guide’s employment-status, exclusivity and reform discussion primarily concerns Great Britain. Scotland and Wales generally share that framework. In Scotland, the tribunal limit for breach-of-contract claims changes on 9 November 2026, not 1 October. Before that change it is three months less a day; for problems on or after it, six months less a day.
Northern Ireland has separate employment legislation. Do not assume the GB tribunal extension, exclusivity rules or guaranteed-hours reforms apply there. Minimum wage applies UK-wide, and the April 2026 SSP reforms also apply in Northern Ireland. For a live dispute, ask the Labour Relations Agency about Northern Ireland’s rules and deadlines, rather than using Acas early conciliation. See our Northern Ireland guide.
Questions people ask
Do casual workers get holiday pay?
Yes, with worker status. Qualifying irregular-hours and part-year workers accrue leave at 12.07% of hours worked. Other working patterns use different calculations.
Do casual workers get sick pay?
Yes, if SSP’s separate eligibility conditions are met. PAYE alone does not qualify you. Short engagements can limit how long SSP continues.
Can your employer stop you taking a second job?
GB zero-hours exclusivity terms are unenforceable. Certain low-income contracts are protected too. Confidentiality duties and working-time rules still apply.
Can shifts stop after you refuse an offer?
The employer may not have to offer more work. But rota removal can breach discrimination or other specific protections. Employee status can bring dismissal rights.
Is rolled-up holiday pay legal?
Only for qualifying irregular-hours and part-year workers, for leave years starting on or after 1 April 2024. It must be extra, itemised pay without removing time off.
Are casual workers entitled to redundancy pay?
Only qualifying employees, normally with two years’ continuous employment. The casual label is not decisive, and some gaps can be bridged.
Sources
- Employment status, GOV.UK
- Employment status and rights: support for individuals, GOV.UK
- Make Work Pay: employment status reform and protections for the self-employed, Department for Business, Innovation, Science and Trade, consultation published 14 October 2026
- Employment status reform and protections for the self-employed: consultation document, Department for Business, Innovation, Science and Trade, pages 10, 17–18, 22–26 and 28–36
- National Minimum Wage and National Living Wage rates, GOV.UK
- Minimum wage for different types of work, GOV.UK
- Holiday pay and entitlement reforms from 1 January 2024, GOV.UK
- Statutory Sick Pay, GOV.UK
- Statutory Sick Pay eligibility, GOV.UK
- Statutory Sick Pay: different employment types, HMRC
- Employment Rights Act 1996, section 1: written particulars, legislation.gov.uk
- Employment Rights Act 1996, section 212: continuity, legislation.gov.uk
- Employment Rights Act 1996, section 27A: zero-hours exclusivity, legislation.gov.uk
- Exclusivity Terms for Zero Hours Workers Regulations 2022, legislation.gov.uk
- Agency Workers Regulations 2010 guidance, GOV.UK
- Part-time Workers Regulations 2000, legislation.gov.uk
- Working Time Regulations 1998, legislation.gov.uk
- Equality Act 2010, legislation.gov.uk
- Employment Rights Act 2025: implementation timeline, Acas
- Employment tribunal time limits, Acas
- Employment Rights Act 2025, legislation.gov.uk
- Statutory Sick Pay changes 2026, Labour Relations Agency
- Minimum wage enforcement and compliance in 2024/25, Department for Business and Trade, November 2025, page 5
- Tribunal statistics quarterly: January to March 2026, Ministry of Justice, section 6
- Pay and work rights helpline, GOV.UK