Australian employees now have the legal right to ignore work emails and calls outside of their official working hours, thanks to a new “right to disconnect” law that came into effect on Monday. This law aims to protect personal time and prevent work intrusions into employees’ private lives.
Under this new rule, employees are generally shielded from penalties if they choose not to read or respond to work-related communications from their employers outside of designated work hours. This move is seen as a response to the increasing blend of work and home life, a trend that accelerated during the COVID-19 pandemic.
“Before digital technology, there was no encroachment. People would go home at the end of a shift with no contact until the next day,” explained John Hopkins, an associate professor at Swinburne University of Technology. He highlighted how modern technology has blurred these lines, with emails, texts, and calls extending into personal time, even during holidays.
A survey by the Australia Institute revealed that Australians worked an average of 281 hours of unpaid overtime in 2023, equivalent to about A$130 billion ($88 billion) in labor value.
Australia joins around two dozen countries, including France, that have enacted similar “right to disconnect” laws. France introduced such rules in 2017 and enforced them strictly, including fining companies for non-compliance.
However, the new Australian law does come with exceptions for emergencies and jobs with irregular hours. Employers can still contact employees outside of regular hours, but employees can refuse to respond if deemed reasonable. The Fair Work Commission (FWC) will determine what constitutes a “reasonable” refusal based on the employee’s role, personal circumstances, and the context of the contact. The FWC can issue a cease-and-desist order or impose fines of up to A$19,000 for an individual or A$94,000 for a company.
Despite the law’s intent to protect workers’ personal time, the Australian Industry Group, an employer organization, voiced concerns that the rule’s ambiguity could create confusion and reduce job flexibility, potentially slowing economic activity.
In contrast, Michele O’Neil, president of the Australian Council of Trade Unions, welcomed the law, emphasizing that it prevents employees from bearing the brunt of poor management planning.
“This will make employers think twice about whether they really need to send that text or email,” O’Neil said, citing an example of a worker asked to return to work just four hours after ending a midnight shift.
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