Hi All

A friend (and yes, this is actually a friend and not a euphemism for me!) until recently had been working for a company, on a casual basis, and it turns out with no written contract. Yes, I've already berated him over this!

The company has had some issues with the performance of his work, but have decided that because he didn't have an employment to simply stop giving him any work.

Now for my questions:

1. At what point does a worker cease to be causally employed. For the last 4  months his hours have been 40 hours per week.
2. In the absence of an employment contract, what rights does an employee have?