Where the calculation still fails
Under the old '418' rule, an employee qualified for a continuous contract only by working at least 18 hours in every one of four consecutive weeks for the same employer. From 18 January 2026, the '468' rule replaced this with two alternative tests, and the difference between them changes who actually qualifies.
Official Labour Department guidance confirms an employee is employed under a continuous contract if, having worked for the same employer for four or more consecutive weeks, they meet either of two conditions: working at least 17 hours in a given week, or — where a given week falls below 17 hours — working at least 68 hours in total across that week and the three weeks immediately before it.
Crucially, the 468 aggregate test does not apply during an employee's first three weeks of employment: for that initial period, the employee must still work at least 17 hours in each week to qualify, since there aren't yet three prior weeks to aggregate against.
Who this actually affects
The practical impact concentrates in sectors that schedule staff on uneven, demand-driven rosters — retail, food and beverage, transport, security and construction — where an employee might comfortably clear 68 hours across four weeks while never hitting 18 hours in every single one of them. Employers in these sectors are most likely to see employees newly qualify for continuous contract status who would not have qualified under 418.
What HR should check now
Run the 68-hour rolling calculation against your actual roster data, not just average weekly hours, since averages can hide weeks that would have failed 418 but pass 468 in aggregate. Flag any employee whose four-week rolling total is approaching 68 hours so payroll can react before, not after, statutory entitlements are triggered. Keep the pre- and post-18-January working-hour records clearly separated, since the two periods are assessed under different rules. And build the first-three-weeks exception into onboarding checklists — a new hire's early rota needs to clear 17 hours a week on its own, because the aggregate test isn't available to them yet.
Two calculations, side by side
Example A — a retail employee works 20, 18, 15 and 16 hours across four consecutive weeks. Under 418, week three (15 hours) and week four (16 hours) both fall below the 18-hour weekly threshold, so the employee does not qualify. Under 468, the same four weeks total 69 hours (20+18+15+16), clearing the 68-hour aggregate — so this employee now qualifies for a continuous contract, even though two of the four weeks never hit the old 18-hour mark on their own.
A casual worker rostered for 10, 12, 14 and 15 hours across four weeks totals 51 hours — below the 68-hour aggregate, so this employee does not qualify under either rule. The 468 test lowers the bar, but it does not eliminate it: employees with genuinely light, infrequent rosters can still fall outside continuous contract protection.
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