Australian workers from Monday will have the right to ignore their boss’ call after work hours.
They will be protected by a new
legislation
that grants them the “
right to disconnect
” from their employers outside of their designated working hours. This law, which was passed in February, safeguards employees who choose not to engage with their bosses by monitoring, reading, or responding to their contact attempts during non-work hours.
“Employees will have the right to refuse contact outside their working hours unless that refusal is unreasonable.
This means an employee can refuse to monitor, read or respond to contact from an
employer
or a third party. The right also covers attempted contact outside of an employee’s working hours,” states the official law. However, the legislation further says that several factors for the call such as reasons, method of contact etc., will be considered if the refusal was deemed unreasonable.
Australia
is not the first country to implement such a law, as similar legislation already exists in several
European Union
countries, including France and Germany, which allows employees to switch off their
mobile devices
outside of work.
The law faced opposition from employer groups during its passage through parliament earlier this year, with critics labeling the legislation as rushed and flawed. However, the law does account for certain situations where an employee’s refusal to engage with their employer may be considered unreasonable, taking into account factors such as their role, the reason for the contact, and the manner in which the contact is made.
