The Right to Disconnect Laws are a significant development for employees, particularly for career-driven professionals like yourself who are committed to excelling in their careers while maintaining a healthy work-life balance.
These laws, designed to enhance work-life balance, ensure that employees can disconnect from work communications outside of their standard working hours without facing negative repercussions.
In this blog, we outline what you need to know and how you can navigate these changes to protect your rights effectively.
Understanding the Right to Disconnect
The Right to Disconnect laws were introduced to combat the growing issue of employees being expected to respond to work communications during their personal time. This legislation mandates that employers cannot require employees to engage in work-related tasks, such as responding to emails or phone calls, outside of their designated working hours unless the contact is “reasonable”.
There is no definition in the legislation for what kind of contact is considered “reasonable” or “unreasonable.” However, there are a series of considerations that will help guide the assessment.
We detail these further below.
When does the new law start?
This change starts on:
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- 26 August 2024 for non-small business employers (i.e. organisations with more than 15 employees)
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- 26 August 2025 for small business employers (i.e. organisations with less than 15 employees).
Key elements of the Right to Disconnect Law
Your Right to Disconnect
You have the right to refuse work-related contact after your work hours unless such refusal is deemed unreasonable. This means you can choose not to monitor, read, or respond to messages or calls from your employer or any work-related third party outside your designated working hours.
What Constitutes Unreasonable Refusal?
Several factors are considered when determining if refusing contact is unreasonable:
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- Reason for Contact: Why is your employer reaching out? Is it an emergency or something that can wait?
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- How contact is made: how the contact or attempted contact is made and the level of disruption the contact or attempted contact causes you
For example, an email at 8 am on a Monday to help set priorities for the week might be considered reasonable versus sending you an email while you are on leave may not
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- Compensation: Are you being paid to be available during this period, or for working extra hours? Does your employer have any existing policies or practices regarding things like allowances, penalties, time off in lieu or other flexible work arrangements?
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- Role and Responsibility: What’s the nature of your job and your level of responsibility? Some roles might inherently require more availability. Does your employer have clear contractual terms, a position description and policies that specify what level of contact is considered reasonable?
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- Personal Circumstances: Do you have family or caring responsibilities that make the contact unreasonable?
As it is very much still early days, it is expected that further clarification will be provided in time as to what forms of contact will be regarded as reasonable and what circumstances an employee may reasonably ‘refuse’ such contact.
Does it mean your employer is not allowed to contact you outside of work hours?
No
It does not prohibit your employer from contacting you outside of your work hours (note: this is provided that the contact does not otherwise infringe on your employer’s separate legal obligation to provide a workplace free from psychosocial hazards).
What it does do, however, is allow employees to refuse to monitor, read or respond to your employer’s contact.
Benefits of the Right to Disconnect
There are several anticipated benefits to the new Right to Disconnect Laws. These include:
- Improved Work-Life Balance: By ensuring that work does not intrude on personal time, these laws help maintain a healthier work-life balance. As a career-driven professional, you can benefit from having your personal time respected. This allows you to recharge and return to work more focused and productive.
- Enhanced Productivity: Employees who can fully disconnect and recharge are more likely to be productive and engaged during their working hours.
- Reduced stress and burnout: Reducing the pressure to be constantly available for work can significantly improve mental health and reduce burnout.
- Empowerment and Advocacy: These laws empower you to stand up for your right to disconnect, ensuring that your workplace rights are safeguarded. If your employer expects you to be available outside of work hours, you have the right to address this and seek a resolution.
- Reputation Management: By adhering to the Right to Disconnect Laws, both you and your employer can foster a more respectful and balanced workplace culture, which can positively impact your professional reputation.
Handling Disputes
If there’s a disagreement about your right to disconnect:
- Discuss Internally: Try to resolve the issue within your workplace first.
- Seek External Help: If you can’t resolve it internally, you can approach the Fair Work Commission. They can issue orders or find other ways to resolve the dispute.
The Commission has powers to make orders to prevent an employer from taking disciplinary action or requiring an employee to remain connected in circumstances where it is reasonable for the employee to refuse.
Be aware however that the Commission also has the power to make orders that prevent the employee from unreasonably refusing to respond if it believes there is a risk the employee will continue to do so.
Practical Steps to Understand and Assert Your Rights
- Familiarise Yourself with Company Policies: Review your employer’s policies regarding work hours and communications. Ensure you understand what is expected of you and when.
- Communicate Clearly: If you notice that work communications are encroaching on your personal time, communicate this with your manager. Clarify your availability and set boundaries to protect your personal time.
- Seek Support if Needed: If your employer does not respect your right to disconnect, consider seeking advice from your HR department or external legal advisors such as Rubix Legal.
