Does Your Boss Message You on Weekends? Are you still receiving work emails after you’ve clocked out and returned home? Australian workers employed by medium and large companies can now legally ignore such intrusions into their personal lives, thanks to a new law that takes effect today, granting them the “right to disconnect.”
“Today is a historic day for workers,” declared Michele O’Neil, President of the Australian Council of Trade Unions. Australians will now be able to “spend time with their loved ones without the constant stress of feeling obligated to respond to unreasonable work calls and messages,” she added.
Under this new law, which was passed in February, employees have the right to “refuse to check, read, or respond” to their employer’s or third-party communications, such as a client’s, outside of working hours, unless it’s a “reasonable” request.
The Australian Industry Group, representing employers, voiced concerns, calling the “right to disconnect” legislation “rushed, poorly designed, and overly complex.” They stated, “At the very least, employers and employees will no longer be sure if they can accept or make a call outside of work hours to offer overtime.”
“We encourage employees to familiarize themselves with the right to disconnect and to apply it sensibly,” commented Ana Booth from the Fair Work Ombudsman (FWO), the independent body responsible for overseeing labor law compliance.
What constitutes a “reasonable” request depends on the circumstances, the FWO clarified in a statement. Factors that influence this determination include the purpose of the communication, the nature of the work, and whether employees are compensated for overtime or for being on-call outside regular hours. “We want to ensure that, just as people aren’t paid 24/7, they aren’t required to work 24/7,” Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese emphasized in a national television interview.
“It’s also fundamentally a mental health issue,” he continued. “People need the ability to disconnect from work and reconnect with their families.”
Small businesses with fewer than 15 employees have been granted an extension and will need to comply with the law by August 26, 2025. The “right to disconnect” law was first introduced in France in 2017, followed by Spain in 2018 and Belgium in 2022.
