Australia’s New Right to Disconnect Let’s Employees Unplug After Work

Passing a historical law, starting Monday, Australian workers will have the right to ignore their bosses’ calls after work hours under new legislation.

Passed in February, this “right to disconnect” law, it protects employees who choose not to engage with their employers outside their designated working hours.

Further, it also ensures that employees are not obligated to monitor, read, or respond to communications from their bosses or third parties during their off-time.

As per the law, employees can refuse contact outside of their work hours, but, except in cases where such a refusal would be deemed unreasonable. Factors such as the nature of the contact, the method used, and the reasons for the communication will be taken into account to determine if a refusal is justified.

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But, despite facing criticism from employer groups who argued that the legislation was rushed and flawed, the law does provide some flexibility by considering specific circumstances that might make an employee’s refusal unreasonable.

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Meanwhile, Australia becomes one of several countries, which already have similar laws allowing employees to disconnect from work-related communications outside of their work hours, like France & Germany.