Yes, employees can be hired on a casual basis, i.e. the employer offers a shift and it may or may not be accepted by the employee. There is no obligation to pay casual employees unless they accept and work a shift.
You can have an employment contract that does not have an end date, but then the 90 probationary period in the AB employment standards would apply and notice would be required after 90 days.
You can have a fixed term of up to 12 months. No notice would be required, so long as the person does not continue working past the 12 month threshold.
Such fixed term contracts can be repeated, but the problem is that if this is a pattern that repeats too often, there is the risk that these will be seen as one continuous period of employment, subject to notice requirements.
Hope that helps. Glenn
