Legal Right to Unplug: Australian Employees Given Freedom from After-Hours Work

The COVID-19 pandemic has significantly blurred the lines between home and work, with technology and evolving workplace culture increasingly encroaching into personal lives. The expectation for employees to be within reach 24/7 has become more common.

The Australia Institute reported that Australians worked an estimated 281 hours of unpaid leave, equivalent to nearly 12 days – almost the amount of annual leave days. To address this, Australia introduced a new “right to disconnect” law on August 26. This legislation protects employees from being penalized for not responding to work communications outside of office hours. The Fair Work Commission will determine what constitutes reasonable refusal based on the employee’s role, personal circumstances, and nature of the contact.

With this law, Australia joins about 24 other countries that have implemented similar measures to protect work-life balance.

Source: https://www.channelnewsasia.com/world/australian-employees-now-have-right-ignore-work-emails-calls-after-hours-4567191