Persuade casual worker to be on time (5)
I believe the answer is:
tempt
'persuade' is the definition.
(tempting is a kind of persuading)
'casual worker to be on time' is the wordplay.
'casual worker' becomes 'temp' (short-term or temporary worker).
'to be on' says to put letters next to each other (in a down clue, letters appear on others).
'time' becomes 't' (abbreviation).
'temp'+'t'='TEMPT'
(Other definitions for tempt that I've seen before include "draw" , "Entice (to sin)" , "Allure, entice" , "Entice; risk provoking (fate)" , "Entice - dare" .)