The right to disconnect is here for Australian employees of non-small businesses have now come into effect.
The new rules, part of sweeping workplace legislation changes, mean that eligible employees will have a right to ignore work communications outside of work hours.
So what does that mean?
What is the right to disconnect?
The “right to disconnect” means that employees will have the right to refuse contact outside their working hours unless that refusal is unreasonable. Employees will be within their rights to refuse to monitor, read or respond to contact from an employer or a third party (for example, work-related contact from clients or members of the public).
Who does the new law apply to?
It applies to all Australian businesses with over 15 employees, including associated entities of the employer.
What about small businesses?
The right to disconnect for employees of small businesses will come into effect on August 26, 2025.
So employers can’t contact their staff outside of hours at all?
The law will not restrict managers from contacting employees, be it sending an email, Teams message or call. But, it does give employees the right to refuse to monitor, read or respond to contact from their employer outside work hours unless that refusal is deemed unreasonable.
For example, a manager can send an email after work hours but the employee is not obliged to respond unless it is deemed ‘reasonable’ for them to do so.
Example: Employee is compensated for reasonable out-of-hours contact
Elizabeth is an associate at a medium-sized architecture firm where she usually works 8.30 am to 5 pm.Elizabeth has been asked to fill in for her manager who is taking 3 months’ leave. During this period, Elizabeth will need to lead the delivery of a project for a major client. She is receiving extra pay while acting in her manager’s role.
Her supervising partner, Devi, has let Elizabeth know that a reasonable amount of out-of-hours contact and work will be required during her acting period to deliver the project. She is also told that this has been factored into her higher pay.
Devi gives her a copy of the firm’s policy on out-of-hours contact and asks if she has any questions.
In her second week in the role, Elizabeth leaves work at 5 pm. Shortly after, Devi finds out that Elizabeth’s team needs to urgently provide the client with additional documents for the project by 10 am tomorrow. It will take around 3 hours to prepare the documents. Devi tries to call Elizabeth on her personal mobile and sends her a text message explaining the situation.
When is the employee’s refusal unreasonable?
The employee’s refusal to monitor, read or respond to contact or attempted contact will be unreasonable if the contact is required by law.
If the contact is not required by law, other factors will need to be considered. These factors could include:
- the reason for the contact
- how the contact is made and how disruptive it is to the employee
- how much the employee is compensated or paid extra for:
- being available to perform work during the period they’re contacted, or
- working additional hours outside their ordinary hours of work
- the employee’s role in the business and level of responsibility
- the employee’s personal circumstances, including family or caring responsibilities.
Take the example from above, where Devi is trying to contact Elizabeth about an urgent, time-sensitive issue.
Elizabeth doesn’t answer the calls as she’s about to go to the gym and then run some errands. She reads the full message at 8 pm but decides that it’s too late to respond to Devi. Based on the circumstances, Elizabeth’s refusal to monitor or respond to Devi’s contact could be unreasonable.
What are the penalties?
If an employee raises concerns regarding an employer’s continuous contact out of work hours, the employer could receive a fine of up to $18,780 for an individual or $93,900 for a body corporate.
Should hours & expectations be set?
The Fair Work Ombudsman is encouraging employers and employees to discuss out-of-hours contact and set expectations that suit their situations.
“We encourage workplace participants to educate themselves on the right to disconnect and take a commonsense approach to applying it within their workplace,” Fair Work Ombudsman, Anna Booth, said.
“Like most employment matters, any dispute should first be discussed and sought to be resolved at the workplace level.”
What internal policies, procedures and documents need to be reviewed and updated?
Updates to your policies and procedures documents should be a priority. Internal flexibility arrangements and work technology policies might need to be amended to accommodate the new right-to-disconnect laws. Alternatively, your organisation might need a specific policy to reflect expectations for out-of-hours contact.
Position descriptions for current and upcoming employees may also need to specify your out-of-hours expectations.
The Lucas Group can assist you with all your HR compliance and documentation. We offer services designed to help agricultural organisations identify risk areas and ensure compliance with Australian legislation. We can provide HR auditing and documentation to make sure your agribusiness’s policies and procedures are working for you and setting clear expectations under current Australian law.
If you need assistance reviewing or implementing workplace policies and position descriptions, reach out to our team via resume@lucasgroup.com.au.
Sources: Fair Work Ombudsman, Right to Disconnect Factsheet, Right to disconnect begins today – Media Release