Casual Work in Nursing and Other Clinical Professions: Evidence from Australia

This paper explores casual and temporary work in nursing and other clinical professions in the hospital industry in Australia. Evidence suggests that the use of casual and temporary work has increased in recent years. In turn the growth of non-standard employment has been used to suggest workplace restructuring along the lines of Atkinson's (1984) 'flexible firm' model. However, this article finds that casual and temporary employees are used to fulfil core duties in the hospital industry, casting doubt on Atkinson's model.