Employ casual staff directly in Melbourne.
You employ the worker.
We charge a fee.
Sagora is an online marketplace where Melbourne businesses post casual shifts, choose who works them and employ that person directly. Workers pay nothing.
You pay your worker directly — wages never pass through Sagora. Sagora charges $20 per completed shift, and your first 3 completed shifts are free, once per ABN.
Engaging someone you found on Sagora outside Sagora within 24 months, to avoid the fee, costs $20 for each shift they work for you that way, up to $500 per worker. See Terms.
What kind of casual shift can you post?
Casual shifts in Melbourne in these kinds of work, within the Terms. You write the shift, choose who works it and employ them yourself.
Removals
A removalist or truck offsider for the day.
Loading and unloading the truck, carrying and wrapping furniture, and working with your driver. In the post, give the start time, the suburb and the rate for that day, weekend or public holiday rate included, and ask for a car or licence only if the job needs it. Describe the work, not the person: “Able to safely lift 25 kg as part of a two-person team. Anyone who meets the requirements can apply.” This is for removals businesses, not home moves (see moving house below).
Warehousing
Order picking, loading and unloading.
It also covers pallet work, such as building and wrapping pallets for dispatch. Ask for an LF forklift high risk work licence only if the worker will drive a forklift, and sight the licence yourself before work starts. WorkSafe Victoria — high risk work licence
Transport and delivery
A driver or offsider who is your casual employee.
A second person on the truck for deliveries, or a driver for the day. Whoever works it is your own casual employee, and you pay them directly. Ask for an MR or HR licence only if the job needs one, and sight it yourself before they drive. VicRoads
Construction
A general labouring shift. Sight the White Card yourself.
The worker is your own casual employee on your site. You sight their White Card (the construction induction card) before they start, and the site induction is yours to run. WorkSafe Victoria — construction induction (white card)
Hospitality and events
Bar, floor and bump-in or bump-out crew. Sight the RSA yourself.
Bar and floor shifts at your venue or event, and crew to bump an event in or out. Where alcohol is served the worker needs an RSA, which you sight before they start. Liquor Control Victoria — RSA training
Manufacturing
Process and production line work.
Work on your own production line, by your own casual employee. Ask for a forklift licence only if they will drive one, and sight it yourself before work starts. WorkSafe Victoria — high risk work licence
The worker pool is small right now. Your first shift may get no applicants. If nobody works it, there is no fee for that shift.
You post the shift free and choose who works it. They're your own casual employee: you pay wages, super and PAYG directly. Wages never pass through Sagora.
For what to pay, check the Fair Work Pay Calculator (calculate.fairwork.gov.au) or ask your accountant.
How posting a casual shift works
- 1.Post a shift, free. The date, times, suburb, your hourly rate, and any licence or car the job needs.
- 2.Workers apply. Workers whose profile matches are emailed about it. You see who applies, with the licences they list, their completed shifts and their ratings.
- 3.You choose who works it. Sagora never picks or assigns a worker.
- 4.You employ and pay them directly. They are your own casual employee. Their wages, super and workers compensation are yours, as with anyone you employ.
- 5.Nothing to tap on the day. A booked shift counts as completed 7 days after its date. If the worker didn’t turn up, record a no-show within 7 days; if the shift is off, cancel it before it starts. Either way, there’s no fee.
- 6.Sagora invoices you its fee. Once a month, for the fee only, paid by bank transfer or card.
The worker pool is small right now. Your first shift may get no applicants. If nobody works it, there is no fee for that shift.
What Sagora charges
- • Nothing if nobody works the shift. Posting is free, and workers never pay.
- • The same $20 whatever the hourly rate, the hours or the day.
- • Invoiced monthly, for the fee only. No GST — Sagora Pty Ltd is not registered for GST.
- • Engaging someone you found on Sagora outside Sagora within 24 months, to avoid the fee, costs $20 for each shift they work for you that way, up to $500 per worker. See Terms.
What stays with you as the employer
Wages never pass through Sagora. These are yours, as they are for anyone you employ — each links to the official source.
- Wages. At least the award rate for the work and the day, including weekend and public holiday rates. Fair Work Pay Calculator
- Superannuation. Paid by you to the worker's super fund. ATO — super for employers
- Workers compensation. Your own policy, under the rules of the state where the work is done. WorkSafe Victoria
- Payroll tax. Check whether it applies to you. State Revenue Office Victoria
- Casual rules. Minimum engagement hours under your award, and a regular casual's right to ask to convert. Fair Work — casual employees
- Licences and right to work. Sight the White Card, forklift ticket, truck licence or RSA before work starts. An RSA must be one the state where the work is done accepts. For visa holders, check work rights. VEVO — Home Affairs
Not advice about your circumstances. If you are unsure, ask your accountant.
Worth your time if
- ✓You already employ casuals directly — payroll, super and workers compensation are already running.
- ✓You would rather post the shift yourself and choose who works it.
- ✓You want to choose the person, and keep the good ones.
- ✓Your work is steady enough that the same faces coming back is worth something.
Use an agency instead if
- —You do not run payroll and do not want to start.
- —You want someone else to carry the employment risk entirely.
- —You need thirty people on Monday — that is what agencies are good at.
- —You want one invoice that covers wages, super and workers compensation.
Straight answers for employers
Who pays the worker?+
You do, directly. Sagora never touches wages — we invoice you separately, once a month, for our fee on completed shifts. The worker keeps every dollar you pay them.
How much is the fee?+
$20 per completed shift, per worker — the same whatever the rate, the hours or the day. Your first 3 completed shifts are free, once per ABN. Invoiced monthly, for the fee only. Engaging someone you found on Sagora outside Sagora within 24 months, to avoid the fee, costs $20 for each shift they work for you that way, up to $500 per worker.
What if nobody takes the shift?+
You pay nothing: the fee only exists on a completed shift. That also means a thin market costs you nothing but time — worth knowing while Sagora is still new.
Does Sagora check licences?+
No. Each worker lists the licences and tickets they hold, and Sagora does not check them. As the employer you are responsible for making sure someone holds the licence the work needs — so ask to see the White Card, forklift ticket, truck licence or RSA before work starts, as you would with anyone.
Is there a fee if I hire someone permanently?+
Engaging a worker you met here outside the platform within 24 months, to avoid the fee, costs $20 for each shift they work for you that way, up to $500 per worker: the fee you would have paid on Sagora. Keep booking them through Sagora and it does not apply.
Can I use Sagora to get help moving house?+
Not for your own home move. Sagora is for businesses, including sole traders, that employ casual staff directly. Someone who employs a casual takes on an employer's duties, such as PAYG withholding, pay slips and records. For a home move, a removalist or a labour-only moving crew gives you a price and employs its own staff.
Do you add GST?+
No. Sagora Pty Ltd is not registered for GST, so the fee is the fee and you get an invoice rather than a tax invoice.
Who runs Sagora
Sagora Pty Ltd is owned by the founder of Moving Folks, a removals company in Lalor. Movingfolks Pty Ltd posts its own shifts here as an employer, on the same terms and fees as anyone else. The founder is also Sagora's only administrator and can see every employer's shifts, rates and applicants.
Post a shift
Free to post a shift. Nothing is charged until a shift is completed, and your first 3 completed shifts are free, once per ABN.
Engaging someone you found on Sagora outside Sagora within 24 months, to avoid the fee, costs $20 for each shift they work for you that way, up to $500 per worker.