The Student Room Group

Doing casual work

Hi everyone,

I'm studying part time for a degree at the moment so I'm working about 15 - 20 hours at a local bakery to earn a bit of extra money to keep me going. The job in general is great - good for me to get to, the right number of hours, great shifts, plus I don't find what I'm actually doing too bad - it's pretty varied and a pressurised environment which I enjoy.

However one thing about it is there is no contract - it is totally casual, cash in hand work (it is totally legal though - she has an accountant, works out tax and NI contributions and I get pay slips to prove this). Just wondering if this brings any disadvantages to the job though?

Also does anyone else have experience of causal work and how did you find it?

Thank you ! :smile:
Reply 1
totally illegal, my mum is a lawyer
Reply 2
Original post by smiley321
totally illegal, my mum is a lawyer


What makes you say that?
Reply 3
oops sorry I meant totally legal
Reply 4
Original post by smiley321
totally illegal, my mum is a lawyer


Casual work isn't illegal.

Royal Mail issues Casual contracts out via their own agency.
Sport Direct issues all sale assistants casual contracts
Event security companies issue casual contacts(G4S & Securigroup to name some)
Even the NHS issues casual contracts to some employees.

So please tell me why and how all these companies are breaking the law.

EDIT:- Posted at same time as quoted poster posted it was legal. So apologises.
(edited 10 years ago)
Reply 5
Original post by Smartcook
Casual work isn't illegal.

Royal Mail issues Casual contracts out via their own agency.
Sport Direct issues all sale assistants casual contracts
Event security companies issue casual contacts(G4S & Securigroup to name some)
Even the NHS issues casual contracts to some employees.

So please tell me why and how all these companies are breaking the law.


They just said they meant to say legal.

I'm employed on casual work as well, it's alright I suppose

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Reply 6
Original post by smiley321
oops sorry I meant totally legal


Lol don't worry :smile:
Reply 7
Original post by Elelia
They just said they meant to say legal.

I'm employed on casual work as well, it's alright I suppose

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have you found any disadvantages with it? :smile:
Reply 8
Original post by Elelia
They just said they meant to say legal.

Posted from TSR Mobile


Not think I posted it at the same time as s/he posted it was legal?



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I am on casual contract with G4S as an Event Steward and I usually do football matches and during summer, I be doing summer concerts and festivals and it usually good money especially during summer. But it feels like you just a number and the company is shocking in my opinion. There hire tons of people every month that its not funny. I am quitting when I go Uni in this September and look for another part time job.
Reply 10
Original post by SpottedZebra
have you found any disadvantages with it? :smile:


No apart from the lack of stability but it's not a problem for me personally

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Reply 11
Original post by Elelia
No apart from the lack of stability but it's not a problem for me personally

Posted from TSR Mobile


Thank you....yeah I feel a bit worried that I can just get laid of at any point. But then where I work there is a high staff turnover as it is, so I'd be suprised if she ever needed to get rid of anyone
Reply 12
Original post by SpottedZebra
Thank you....yeah I feel a bit worried that I can just get laid of at any point. But then where I work there is a high staff turnover as it is, so I'd be suprised if she ever needed to get rid of anyone


A high staff turnover isn't a good thing haha.

The work I have is seasonal so that kind of sucks but what can you do

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The best thing about casual work is that you can choose when to work, you don't have a set rate of hours to work since you be one zero hour contract and you can work around your other commitments such as full time work, studying or other things that you might be doing. Its perfect for students as well.
Reply 14
Original post by Elelia
A high staff turnover isn't a good thing haha.

The work I have is seasonal so that kind of sucks but what can you do

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Lol yeah, I think it's because a lot of people don't like the workload you are expected to deal with - it's a bakery and there isn't really enough staff so you're under a lot of pressure to do everything quickly and well. But i don't mind that, I enjoy a pressurised environment so it's all good :smile:

What casual work do you do?
Reply 15
Original post by SpottedZebra
Lol yeah, I think it's because a lot of people don't like the workload you are expected to deal with - it's a bakery and there isn't really enough staff so you're under a lot of pressure to do everything quickly and well. But i don't mind that, I enjoy a pressurised environment so it's all good :smile:

What casual work do you do?


I'm a housekeeper and a kitchen porter in a local restaurant and b&b and a waitress in a local hotel. Both are casual jobs. I live next to loch Ness so it gets busy at summer but there is nothing in winter

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Reply 16
Original post by Elelia
I'm a housekeeper and a kitchen porter in a local restaurant and b&b and a waitress in a local hotel. Both are casual jobs. I live next to loch Ness so it gets busy at summer but there is nothing in winter

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Ahh I see, do you enjoy it?
I'm one of the casual staff in food and beverage at a local hotel when I'm at home.

I'd say the biggest benefit is that you work when there's work available, and you can work when it suits you. Obviously I wouldn't turn down loads of shifts because there's a chance they'd just say forget it, but if you can't work a certain day or weekend or whatever, it doesn't matter because you're not contractually obliged to work then. At my workplace, it depends on the time of year as to how much work is available - there's usually a lot at the weekend over the summer because that's when most people choose to get married, and I got quite a lot of shifts over Christmas as well; however when I came home from uni for Easter this time there was no work available for me because busy wedding season hasn't started yet (both good and bad - I've been less stressed about revision, but I could really do with that extra money right now!). Hopefully when I come back in the summer things will pick up again.

I don't know if working in a bakery would be similar, but I find the job can be quite stressful, especially when it's busy, because there's always something that needs doing. The bar's quite hard to run sometimes if it's a cash bar and there's a long queue of people building up and you're someone who gets stressed out really easily. Also the pay's not great where I work, but it's still more than I'd get if I didn't have the job. I applied for jobs at loads of places when I finished my first year of uni last year and they were the only place that got back to me, so I was lucky that they offered me a job!

Even if you don't like the work, it's worth doing just for the money until you can find something else. I'd certainly have really struggled with money this year if I hadn't managed to get the job.
Reply 18
Original post by SpottedZebra
Ahh I see, do you enjoy it?


Somewhat. The hotel pays me pretty much pennies and expect 5 star service which really frustrates me.

But the restaurant and b&b is really lovely and the staff I work with are nice. I don't like doing the kping because the dishwasher is broken so you have to put it in a certain way and you have to be careful not to burn yourself when taking stuff out.
But i really like the housekeeping, I really enjoy it.

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Reply 19
Original post by BlueSheep32
I'm one of the casual staff in food and beverage at a local hotel when I'm at home.

I'd say the biggest benefit is that you work when there's work available, and you can work when it suits you. Obviously I wouldn't turn down loads of shifts because there's a chance they'd just say forget it, but if you can't work a certain day or weekend or whatever, it doesn't matter because you're not contractually obliged to work then. At my workplace, it depends on the time of year as to how much work is available - there's usually a lot at the weekend over the summer because that's when most people choose to get married, and I got quite a lot of shifts over Christmas as well; however when I came home from uni for Easter this time there was no work available for me because busy wedding season hasn't started yet (both good and bad - I've been less stressed about revision, but I could really do with that extra money right now!). Hopefully when I come back in the summer things will pick up again.

I don't know if working in a bakery would be similar, but I find the job can be quite stressful, especially when it's busy, because there's always something that needs doing. The bar's quite hard to run sometimes if it's a cash bar and there's a long queue of people building up and you're someone who gets stressed out really easily. Also the pay's not great where I work, but it's still more than I'd get if I didn't have the job. I applied for jobs at loads of places when I finished my first year of uni last year and they were the only place that got back to me, so I was lucky that they offered me a job!

Even if you don't like the work, it's worth doing just for the money until you can find something else. I'd certainly have really struggled with money this year if I hadn't managed to get the job.


Thanks for such a detailed answer :smile: yeah the bakery can be very pressurised too, you can end up serving many customers at once!

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