[A disconnected telephone. Photo credit to Pixabay]

Australia has enacted a new employee rights law called the Right to disconnect, which gives employees time off from responding to work-related messages during non-working hours.

The legislation grants employees the right to ignore work messages and emails and take uninterrupted breaks.

Employers who violate this law may face substantial fines.

The ‘right to disconnect’ is part of changes to Australia’s work rules.

The government says this law will help protect workers and give them a better work-life balance.

Similar legislation already exists in the European Union, and many Australian senators now support it, too.

Tony Burke, the Minister for Employment and Workplace Relations from the center-left Labor Party, stated, “The provision stops employees from answering work related messages during unpaid hours.”

Prime Minister Anthony Albanese also said that workers shouldn’t be penalised for being unavailable around the clock when they are not paid for 24-hour availability.

The new bill also contains other provisions like a clearer pathway from temporary to permanent employment and setting minimum standards for truck drivers.

However, some politicians and employers argue that the ‘right to disconnect’ was an overreach and would undermine the shift towards flexible working and its impact.

The legislation was hailed as a major victory by the Greens, a left-wing party that first proposed the law last year.

A deal has been reached between Labor and smaller parties to push the bill forward.

On average, Australians work six weeks of unpaid overtime annually, which adds up to more than $92 billion in unpaid labor.

A 2023 survey found that Australians work an average of 281 hours of unpaid overtime each year.

While employers are encouraged to resolve disputes with employees internally, unresolved issues are referred to the Fair Work Commission (FWC), which has the power to order employers to cease after-hours contact.

Failure to comply can result in fines with individual penalties reaching up to $94,000 AUD.

Workplace advocacy groups have praised these changes.

Michele O’Neil, the president of the Australian Council of Trade Unions,highlighted that the new law is a protection against interference with fair claims.

She shared a case where a worker finished a midnight shift only to be asked to return to work by 6 a.m. the following day.

“It’s so easy to make contact nowadays that common sense doesn’t get applied anymore. We think this will cause bosses to pause and think about whether they really need to send that text or that email,” O’Neil stated.

While the intent of the law is to protect workers from being constantly on call, there are questions about the long-term effectiveness of the law and its enforcement.