Casual workers make up a large amount of the workforce in the 21st century. From front-of-house staff to maintenance workers, there is a vast list of jobs classed as casual or shift work.
These workers are essential to certain businesses, but casual workers are starting to face some challenges, especially with the cost-of-living crisis casting a gloomy shadow.
What are the current challenges casual workers are facing?
With zero-hour contracts and guaranteed minimum-hour contracts becoming commonplace, especially amongst the younger generation trying to balance school and work, there are growing challenges that are becoming more prominent for casual workers.
Insecurity
Even though casual workers make up a high percentage of the jobs on offer, they face issues such as having to struggle with job insecurity. They often have no guarantee of shifts and they get picked on a rolling basis or not at all.
Zero-hour contracts for casual workers
They also have no guarantee of ongoing employment because they’re on a rolling or zero-hour contract, so have to rely on the employer to book them in for shifts if they cannot pick their own. A knock-on effect of this is casual workers then have to deal with an irregular income stream.
Unreliable income stream
With their working hours being so unreliable, casual workers would have no guarantee of a paycheck at any point which would make it difficult to budget and save money for everyday life, from groceries to a mortgage.
It’s understandable why more people are looking for full-time employment to move away from their casual work/shift jobs but reports say that the job market is uncertain at the moment. Whereas, when it comes to part-time/zero contract hours, jobs are everywhere. Employees are begging for full-time jobs to give them more stability and security. With the cost-of-living crisis still at a peak, employers would want to help their casual workers as much as they can. So, what can we do…?
Would casual workers benefit from on-demand pay?
Casual workers may get paid on a weekly, or monthly schedule. It’s a long time to wait when you’re expecting an irregular paycheck and could get less or more than the previous payslip.
Something to consider which benefits the employee and the employer is on-demand pay. Also known as real-time payments, on-demand pay, allows employees to access their earned wages before their regular pay period. Giving employees the opportunity to use on-demand payments would give them a lot of benefits.
Real-time payments allow employees to access their money as they earn it, even with irregular pay and shift schedules. Being able to access their money in real time would allow casual workers to better budget and manage their finances more effectively, particularly if unexpected expenses occur.
On-demand payments could also reduce the need for quick payment services such as payday loans, which can be challenging to pay back for irregularly paid workers.
What can we do to help?
Income Group offers an instant payment service. Whether it be for an emergency payment, or you look into our long-term service, by using our IGsend software, employers can ensure their casual workers are paid on-demand, in real-time.
Learn more about on-demand pay and earned wage access here.
