'Right to Disconnect' law for Australian Employees will be effective from today!

Highlights: Australia’s new law to come into effect today!

• Australia introduced a new law, "Right to Disconnect," effective today.
• The new law allows Australian employees to avoid work calls or emails outside working hours legally.
• The new law is focused on protecting workers from having their personal lives intruded on by work.
• A survey by the Australia Institute showed that Australians have worked an average overtime of 281 hours of unpaid work.

 

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Australia's new law, "Right to Disconnect," is to be implemented starting today

Australia introduced a new law, "Right to Disconnect," specifically for employees working in the country. The new law allows workers to ignore work-related emails, texts, or calls outside working hours. Employees will now be able to avoid work messages legally under the new law without fearing punishment.

 

The new law aims to protect workers' personal space outside working hours. It was introduced to stop the invasion of work life into the employees' personal lives. John Hopkins, an associate professor at the Swinburne University of Technology, said, "Before we had digital technology, there was no encroachment. People would go home at the end of a shift, and there would be no contact until they returned the following day."

 

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Australians worked an average overtime of 281 hours in 2023

According to a survey conducted by the Australia Institute, in 2023, Australian employees worked an average overtime work of 281 hours that was unpaid. The unpaid labor accounted for up to A$130 billion or $88 US billion dollars. The new rule adds Australia to the list of 20 other countries, mainly including Latin America and Europe, which have similar laws.

 

Pioneer France, a real estate business, introduced these regulations in 2017 and sued Rentokil, a pest control firm, with an initial fine of 60,000 EUR for asking an employee always to have his phone on.

 

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Reasons for refusal must be rational, as per the new law  

As per the new law, employers can still contact workers in emergencies or for jobs with irregular shifts, and employees can refuse to revert only if the refusal is reasonable enough. The Fair Work Commission (FWC), an industrial umpire in Australia, will decide if the refusal is reasonable or not. The employee's role, how and why the contact was initiated, and other personal circumstances will be taken into account for a decision.

 

The FWC has the power to grant a cease-and-desist order or even implement fines of up to A$19,000 for employees and A$94,000 for companies.

 

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