What Type of Employee are You?

There are several different types of employees that can be classified by their employment status and work patterns. The most common type of employee is a permanent employee, who has the full set of employment rights and responsibilities. Permanent employees can be either full-time or part-time, and are entitled to certain employment entitlements such as parental leave, annual holidays, sick leave, and bereavement leave. However, there may be small differences between the rights of full-time and part-time permanent employees due to their work patterns.

 

Another type of employee is a fixed-term employee, whose employment will end on a specified date or when a particular event occurs. A fixed-term employee may be someone who is brought in to replace another employee on parental leave, to cover a seasonal peak, or to complete a project. In order for an employee to be considered a fixed-term employee, there must be a genuine reason based on reasonable grounds for the fixed term, and the employee must be informed of this reason. Fixed-term employees have the same employment rights and responsibilities as permanent employees, except that their jobs will finish at the end of the fixed term.

 

A variation of the fixed-term employee is the seasonal employee, whose employment is generally a type of fixed-term employment that ends at the end of the season. This type of employment is commonly used in industries such as fruit, vegetable, fishing, and meat. In some situations, seasonal employment can become a rolling fixed-term employment, where the employee is rehired at the start of every season.

 

Another type of employee is those who work in triangular employment situations. This is where an employee is employed by one employer (the agency), but is working under another business or organization that directs or controls their day-to-day work (controlling third party). In the past, employees in triangular employment situations could only raise personal grievances against the agency that employed them, even if the mistreatment was committed by the controlling third party. However, with the new amendment in the Employment Relations Act 2000, employees in triangular employment situations can raise personal grievances against both the employer (the agency) and the third party (controlling third party).

 

Finally, there are casual employees, who are not defined in employment legislation, but usually refers to a situation where the employee has no guaranteed hours of work, no regular pattern of work, and is paid on a pay-as-you-earn basis. Casual employees typically have fewer employment rights and responsibilities than permanent employees, and may not be entitled to certain employment entitlements such as annual holidays, sick leave, and bereavement leave.

 

In summary, there are several different types of employees that can be classified by their employment status and work patterns, including permanent employees, fixed-term employees, seasonal employees, triangular employment situations, and casual employees. Each of these types of employees have different rights, responsibilities, and employment entitlements. It is important for employers to understand the different types of employees, and the laws and regulations that apply to each, in order to ensure that they are providing the appropriate rights, benefits, and protections to their employees.