New rules coming into effect on Monday promise to protect some Australian employees’ “right to disconnect” from work, but that doesn’t mean you can ignore all your boss’ calls.

But a legal expert warned new laws may be “toothless”, and many Aussie workers already have a clause in their contract that could override the new protections.

“It’s pretty astonishing to me that that hasn’t been part of the conversation,” Jessica Heron, Employment and Industrial Lawyer with Maurice Blackburn, told 9news.com.au

“The Business Council of Australia came out and said that this is going to diminish the value of labor, and it’s anti-business […] that’s kind of a scare tactic.”

What are the right to disconnect laws in Australia?

Under the new rules, employees have the right to refuse to monitor, read or respond to contact or attempted contact from employers or a third party, unless that refusal is unreasonable, like in the case of a work-related emergency.

Employees also can’t be disciplined or let go for refusing contact outside of work hours.

“Basically, what it means is that an employer isn’t able to contact you outside of working hours anymore unless it’s deemed reasonable for them to do so,” says Heron.

If an employee feels these rights have been violated they should raise it first with their employer, then with the Fair Work Commission if internal mediation doesn’t work. Employers found to be in violation of the new laws can be fined up to $18,000.

When does the right to disconnect come into effect?

Right to disconnect laws will come into effect from Monday August 26, 2024 for businesses with 15 or more employees. 

The rules will come into effect from small businesses (14 or fewer employees) from Tuesday August 26, 2025.

When was the right to disconnect bill passed in Australia?

The Fair Work Legislation Amendment (Closing Loopholes No. 2) Act 2024, which included the new rules around Australian employees’ right to disconnect from work, was passed on February 26, 2024.

What is an example of the right to disconnect?

Heron provided the following examples of reasonable and unreasonable refusal of work-related contact under the new rules:

If a retail employer looked at CCTV footage and saw that the employee who closed left lights or a computer on, then contacted the worker out of hours to alert them, it would be unreasonable for the employee to refuse contact.

If an office worker received a call from their manager instructing them to log on and answer an urgent email, only to find that the email wasn’t urgent at all, it would be reasonable for the employee to refuse contact.

What are the benefits of the right to disconnect for employees?

These rules are designed to make it easier for employees to ‘switch off’ and avoid working overtime without pay, especially those with family and carer responsibilities.

The rules should also empower employees to establish a better work-life balance, like in nations like Belgium and France, where such rules already exist.

What are the exceptions to the right to disconnect?

While employees can refuse contact from employers where reasonable, what counts as reasonable is up to interpretation.

“It’s not clearly defined yet, and that’s likely intentional,” Heron says, so employees should exercise common sense.

Several factors must be taken into consideration when deciding what is reasonable, including but not limited to:

Aussies with a reasonable additional hours clause already in their employment contract may be unable to be able to invoke the new protections.

These clauses are common in white collar jobs and allow employers to direct their employees to work overtime without additional pay, and could be used to “override” right to disconnect rules.

“We haven’t really had any lawmaker make the distinction between how the right to disconnect and this contract law issue are going to work,” Heron says.

Aussies who make more money may also have a hard time invoking the new laws, as Heron predicts employers will argue that it’s reasonable for high-paid employees to be contactable out of hours.

How do I disconnect from work?

Disconnecting from work may be as easy as turning off email notifications after 5pm, but employees can take extra steps to ensure they’re on the same age as employers.

Heron suggests negotiating to have the right to disconnect included in new or existing employment contracts, so these laws can’t be overridden by reasonable additional overtime clauses.

“I would also be having a conversation with my employer about what the expectation is in terms of out of hours conduct, and really getting those guidelines set out early,” she adds. 

“So that if there is any contention that arises down the track, you have a reference point to go back to which says quite clearly what the expectations are.”