Ignore your boss! In Australia, employees now have ‘right to disconnect’ from emails, calls after work hours
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Australian employees can now ignore their boss reaching out after work hours! A new “right to disconnect” law has been introduced in Australia, aiming to protect employees from the intrusion of work-related emails, texts, and calls into their personal lives. The law, which came into effect on Monday, ensures that employees cannot be penalized for not responding to work-related communications outside of their designated work hours, except in reasonable circumstances.
The law does allow for exceptions in cases of emergencies and jobs with irregular hours, where employers can still contact their workers.However, employees can refuse to respond if it is reasonable to do so.
The Fair Work Commission (FWC), Australia’s industrial umpire, will determine the reasonableness of a refusal, considering factors such as the employee’s role, personal circumstances, and why the contact was made. The FWC has the authority to issue cease and desist orders and impose fines of up to A$19,000 for an employee or A$94,000 for a company.
The introduction of digital technology has blurred the lines between work and personal life, with many employees experiencing a constant encroachment of work-related communications into their off-hours.
“Before we had digital technology there was no encroachment, people would go home at the end of a shift and there would be no contact until they returned the following day,” John Hopkins, an associate professor at Swinburne University of Technology was quoted as saying by Reuters.
The Australia Institute estimates that Australians worked an average of 281 hours of unpaid overtime in 2023, valued at A$130 billion ($88 billion).
Australia joins a growing list of countries, primarily in Europe and Latin America, that have implemented similar laws. France, a pioneer in this area, introduced the rules in 2017 and has already enforced them, fining pest control firm Rentokil Initial 60,000 euros ($66,700) for requiring an employee to always have his phone on.
Rachel Abdelnour, who works in advertising, believes that these laws are crucial, stating, “I think it’s actually really important that we have laws like this. We spend so much of our time connected to our phones, connected to our emails all day, and I think that it’s really hard to switch off as it is.”
The law does allow for exceptions in cases of emergencies and jobs with irregular hours, where employers can still contact their workers.However, employees can refuse to respond if it is reasonable to do so.
The Fair Work Commission (FWC), Australia’s industrial umpire, will determine the reasonableness of a refusal, considering factors such as the employee’s role, personal circumstances, and why the contact was made. The FWC has the authority to issue cease and desist orders and impose fines of up to A$19,000 for an employee or A$94,000 for a company.
The introduction of digital technology has blurred the lines between work and personal life, with many employees experiencing a constant encroachment of work-related communications into their off-hours.
“Before we had digital technology there was no encroachment, people would go home at the end of a shift and there would be no contact until they returned the following day,” John Hopkins, an associate professor at Swinburne University of Technology was quoted as saying by Reuters.
The Australia Institute estimates that Australians worked an average of 281 hours of unpaid overtime in 2023, valued at A$130 billion ($88 billion).
Australia joins a growing list of countries, primarily in Europe and Latin America, that have implemented similar laws. France, a pioneer in this area, introduced the rules in 2017 and has already enforced them, fining pest control firm Rentokil Initial 60,000 euros ($66,700) for requiring an employee to always have his phone on.
Rachel Abdelnour, who works in advertising, believes that these laws are crucial, stating, “I think it’s actually really important that we have laws like this. We spend so much of our time connected to our phones, connected to our emails all day, and I think that it’s really hard to switch off as it is.”
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