Who is a Casual Worker? Employment Practice and Ghana’s Labour Laws

Source: James Gawuga Nkrumah

Introduction

Ghana’s Labour Act, 2003 (Act 651) contains special provisions relating to temporary and casual workers. These provisions recognise the special nature and operations of some businesses. They, therefore, allow an employer to hire workers on such terms suitable for the business operation. However, the provisions do not apply to piece workers, part-time workers, apprentices, and sharecroppers. Those provisions are also not applicable to wage earning fisher folks and persons who work for less than twenty-four hours on average per week.

This paper discusses, mainly, one category of workers: casual workers. Most employments or businesses use this phrase with the view of distinguishing these workers from another set of workers – permanent workers. It is not in all cases that the description is accurately done, hence, this piece is to shed light on the meaning and rights of casual workers within Ghana’s employment setting and labour laws.

Features of Casual Work

The nature of work would require that workers be employed on a “casual” basis. Such employment may not be for the long term. For instance, persons may be engaged to harvest ripe cocoa on a farm. Any person by the entrance to the farm interested in the work could be called to enter the farmland to work. After paying the wages, the workers could be replaced with any person at the farm entrance the following morning. Works such as these are casual in nature. “Casual work” can therefore be considered as “work that is occasional, irregular, or for a short time – often associated with day labour.”

Casual Work is Seasonal

Casual workers are periodically (not permanently) employed for seasonal work.4 For instance, engaging people for fish mongering or fruit-picking when fish or fruits are in season. As the employment is seasonal, it cannot at the same time be regular or continuous for a long time.