HR insights: What does the ERA mean for casual workers?

Significant reforms are being phased in across 2026 and 2027 to strengthen the rights of casual workers on zero hours and low hours contracts. Employers will be required to give reasonable advance notice of shifts, provide compensation when shifts are cancelled, changed or cut short at short notice, and – most significantly – offer guaranteed hours contracts to qualifying workers who work regular hours over an agreed reference period. Alongside this, enhanced protections such as stronger unfair dismissal rights, wider access to statutory sick pay, and enhanced family leave rights will further improve security for many casual workers, marking a shift away from one sided flexibility toward greater predictability and fairness at work. In this session, our employment law experts explored what these changes mean in practice, when each right comes into force, and the practical steps employers should be taking now to prepare.