A casual employee is employed for a short period and works for parts of the week, for example, a domestic employee who only comes in one day a week for 5 hours. If an employee works more than 24 hours a month they qualify for proportional rights such as annual leave and sick leave and are covered by all the provisions in the Basic Conditions of Employment Act (BCEA). They should also get written particulars of employment when they start the job. If the employee works more than 24 hours in a month, they become entitled to one day of annual leave for every 17 days worked, and one day of sick leave for every 26 days worked.

Casual employees do not have much legal protection under the BCEA. Chapter 2 of the BCEA regulates working time but doesn’t protect employees who work less than 24 hours a month. However, casual employees are protected under the Labour Relations Act (LRA) where they can refer an unfair dismissal to the CCMA.