Last updated: October 1, 2025

The Christmas shopping period and party season begins earlier each year, and 2025 is no exception.

Many businesses have already begun to recruit additional staff for this busy period. If your business is also expecting greater demand over the Christmas and summer period, bringing on board additional team members on a short-term basis can be the most effective way to ensure you can deliver on all your commitments, and fulfil all your orders during the busy months.

What is a Christmas casual?

Christmas Casuals are casual employees who are usually hired in the lead up to the busy Christmas shopping season. Sometimes they remain employed after the festive season is over, but usually they are employed to help during the busy holiday period only. An employer will need to decide whether they will continue to offer casual shifts once the holiday season is over.

Why hire a Christmas casual?

Hiring casual staff on a short-term basis during this busy period offers employers many benefits that go beyond just an extra pair of helping hands.

  • Flexibility: You can easily scale your workforce up or down and better manage your roster to meet the surge in demand during the busy holiday period.
  • Reduced risk: With no long-term commitment, you reduce the risk of overstaffing or overcommitting the business financially. Plus, it can help you avoid lengthy performance management situations if a new hire turns out to be a poor fit for the business.
  • Access to talent: You can discover potential new permanent employees by ‘testing’ staff in a casual role, helping you make more informed hiring decisions, based on their actual experience in the role.
  • New ideas and energy: New hires can bring fresh perspectives and innovative ideas to your team.
  • Cost-effective staffing: Casuals are a cost-efficient way to handle temporary spikes in work, as you only pay for the hours they work.

We’re here to help

We have candidates with a range of skills and experience, eager and ready to help your business, and we can help you find someone that fits your needs and your workplace. Just give us a call or visit your local Employment Plus office, and we’ll be ready to help you.

Related articles

News 19 Nov 2025 Employing Christmas casuals Many businesses rely on short-term casual employees - ‘Christmas casuals’ - to meet customer needs during this busy period.
News 19 Nov 2025 Work Christmas parties: golden rules for employers and employees to celebrate safely Workplace Christmas parties and other festive functions are a highlight for many employees, but they also carry risks that both employers and employees should be aware of.
News 14 Nov 2025 From Overwhelmed to Organised: Time Management for Parents We’ve put together some simple, practical time management tips, so you can feel more calm, capable, and in control of your days.