Right to disconnect and employees
Having trouble setting work boundaries and switching off after hours? Continually checking work messages at night and on weekends? Taking calls from your boss? Rushing to answer a call from a client?
Australia’s ‘Right to Disconnect’ legislation has come into effect. It allows you to ignore communications after hours if you choose to, without fear of being punished for doing so. The Bill is designed to regulate and set limits on out-of-hours communication between you, your employer and other work stakeholders.
Before you decide to fully disconnect after clocking off, however, you’ll want to be across how the legislation is interpreted and applied within your workplace.
This week’s expert article focuses on issues to consider when disconnecting and some factors that could impact on you.
What is the ‘right to disconnect’?
As we’ve said above, the right to disconnect means you—as an employee—can ‘refuse to monitor, read or respond to contact, or attempted contact from your employer or related parties outside of work hours, unless it’s reasonable to do so.’
The right will be explicitly recognised under the Commonwealth’s Fair Work Act 2009.
Is the right to disconnect legislation just for government departments?
No. The legislation applies to all workplaces in Australia with over 15 employees (public, private and not-for-profit). Having said that, smaller businesses can choose to comply even though not required to do so.
An employee’s right to disconnect applies from:
- 26 August 2024 for non-small business employers and their employees
- 26 August 2025 for small business employers and their employees.
What does ‘unless it’s reasonable to do so’ mean?
This is key to how you handle the right to disconnect. It’s important to align your understanding with your employer’s understanding—so you’re both on the same page.
Essentially, the legislation says everyone needs to consider factors when determining whether refusal is unreasonable. The list in the ‘Right to Disconnect Bill’ is not exhaustive but it provides examples of what to consider and discuss with your employer. Here are 3 quick examples and our interpretation of what they mean.
The reason for the contact or attempted contact
It’s key to consider if the reason is minor or major.
If your boss calls to ask a non-urgent question about a project not due to be completed for several more months, then this might not be reasonable because the question could have waited until the next working day.
If, however, your organisation is facing an unexpected, serious matter that could affect a tight and immovable deadline, then this might be reasonable.
Another case is if your role requires you to be on call for emergency outages in workplace operations. If this is the case then contact after hours is likely reasonable, no matter what time it is or what day it is.
The nature of your role and level of responsibility
One factor to consider is whether you’re a junior member of staff or a senior member of staff. Another factor is whether you’re in a support role or a decision-making role.
The method of contact and the level of disruption it can cause
If a phone call comes in on your work mobile from your boss as you’re picking up the kids from school and scrambling to get home to get the family fed, this might be entirely disruptive, especially if you’re boss could have called later.
Emails sent late at night, or during the night, that could have waited until the morning, might also represent an unnecessary level of disruption.
What does contact from ‘related parties’ mean?
In addition to contact from people at your workplace, the right to disconnect includes ‘related parties’. This could be, for example, external consultants or contractors working on a project with you. It could also be clients, customers, suppliers, or other stakeholders involved in executing workplace matters.
Does my organisation need to have a right-to-disconnect policy?
It’s wise for your organisation to have a right-to-disconnect policy if they intend to enforce the right. If you’re unsure, check your intranet or internal systems for the policy. If you can’t find it, ask your manager if there is one and where it’s located.
Then read the policy and clarify anything you don’t understand.
What happens if I don’t agree with my employer on what is ‘reasonable contact’?
It might be that you and your employer have different opinions on what is ‘reasonable contact’.
Check your organisation’s policy for dispute resolution processes to follow. The legislation states that disputes should first be dealt with at workplace level through discussions between you and your employer. It’s key to try to resolve issues with your direct manager before taking them up-the-line.
If this is unsuccessful, you can contact the Fair Work Commission. As mentioned, however, the Commission requires you to first follow the correct dispute resolution process.
Does this legislation mean my boss can’t contact me after hours?
The legislation doesn’t stop your boss from contacting you. However, you can’t be penalised if you exercise your right to ignore the contact.
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