From Monday, 26 August 2024, employees now have a legal Right to Disconnect.
This means employees can refuse to monitor, read, or respond to work contact outside their normal hours — unless that refusal is unreasonable.
“Contact” includes phone calls, texts, emails, and any other work communication.
What businesses are impacted?
Businesses with 15 or more employees must comply now.
Small businesses (fewer than 15 employees) must comply by 26 August 2025.
The law also affects third parties such as:
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Clients
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Suppliers
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Contractors
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Staff from other businesses
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Members of the public
All businesses should review their practices now to avoid future non-compliance.
What is considered when determining whether the employees’ refusal to respond is unreasonable?
- The reason for the contact (was it a day-to-day matter or was the reason for the contact urgent)
- Is the employee known to have family or caring responsibilities?
- Is the employee paid extra for being available outside their normal working hours?
- The nature of the employees’ role and their level of responsibility. This is also a factor in determining whether contact is unreasonable. (Generally speaking, contacting more senior employees with roles that carry a lot of responsibility will not be considered unreasonable, however as these laws are new and quite wide in application, this contact should not be abused and such contact should be reserved for important matters that need urgent attention.)
What’s the impact of the new laws?
These laws essentially prevent employers from penalising staff (for example taking disciplinary action or dismissing staff) who utilise their right to disconnect.
If an employer does take disciplinary action or dismisses an employee for ignoring a communication, the employee can apply to the Fair Work Commission for a “Stop Order” to stop the employer from requesting that out of hours communications be responded to or the employee could take an Adverse Action claim against the employer for breach of these new laws.
Equally, if an employer feels that their communications have been reasonable and not in breach of these laws, the employer can make an application for a “Stop Order” to stop the employee from unreasonably refusing to monitor, read or respond to communications or contact.
Where to now?
All businesses – big or small should consider reviewing their workplace policies and employment contracts to include these changes. It’s also a great opportunity to review your role descriptions, and other critical employment documents to ensure they reference the Right to Disconnect.
If you’d like a sample of what a clause addressing the Right To Disconnect in a workplace policy may look like, great news we’ve got one ready for you!
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Want some help?! Aspect Legal’s award winning team is already across these changes and ready to help.
