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Under the new laws, employees can refuse contact, as well as attempted contact, from their employer or a third party outside of working hours, unless that refusal is unreasonable.
The new ‘Right to Disconnect’ laws have been enforced in Australia on 26 August 2024 for non-small business employers with 15 or more employees.
Under the new laws, employees can refuse to monitor, read or respond to contact, as well as attempted contact, from their employer or a third party outside of working hours, unless that refusal is unreasonable.
When determining whether an employee’s refusal is unreasonable, several factors must be considered, including:
● the reason for the contact
● how the contact is made and how disruptive it is to the employee
● whether the employee is compensated or paid extra for:
◦ being available to be contacted to perform work within a specific period, or
◦ working additional hours outside their ordinary hours of work
● the nature of the employee’s role and level of responsibility
● the employee’s personal circumstances, including family or caring responsibilities.
This change will later be applicable to small business employers with fewer than 15 employees next year (26 August 2025).
Along with this development, recent polls conducted by people2people Recruitment revealed 78% of employees are more likely to work for a company with a clear Right to Disconnect policy.
However, Australian employees and businesses have expressed concerns when it comes to its implementation and management.
Their main concerns include the difficulty to enforce such rules (62%), followed by the impact on work culture (15%), on productivity (12%) and collaboration (11%).
Suhini Wijayasinghe, Head of HR Solutions at people2people Recruitment, shared tips to adapt to the Right to Disconnect:
- Ensure clear and regular communication
- Provide training sessions for management and staff
- Set your own boundaries, always lead by example, and respect others’ boundaries
- Prioritise tasks and focus on completing the most critical ones during the designated work hours
- Gather feedback from employees and be open to making adjustments that better serve the team
- Take advantage of technology and use it wisely
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