As of 26th August 2024, employees nationwide in Australia have the right to disconnect. For small businesses (those with fewer than fifteen employees), this change will take effect from 26th August 2025.

The Right to Disconnect is an amendment to the Fair Work Act. There is a useful video created by Fair Work Australia that provides a useful outline of the Right to Disconnect.

What Does The Right to Disconnect Mean? 

Employees have the right to refuse to monitor, read, or respond to communication from their employer or third parties outside of their agreed working hours, unless such refusal is considered unreasonable.

Third parties can include clients, suppliers, staff from other companies, or the public, with communication covering a range of channels such as calls, texts, emails, social media and messaging apps.

When determining if an employee’s refusal is unreasonable, several factors are considered, such as:

• The reason for the contact.
• How the contact was made and its level of disruption.
• Whether the employee is compensated for being available or working outside of agreed hours.
• The employee’s role and seniority.
• Personal circumstances, like caring responsibilities. Other factors may also be considered.

What Do Businesses Need to Do?

1. Update employee contracts, job descriptions, and policies to reflect the new Right to Disconnect legislation, ensuring employees are informed and agree to these changes.
2. Establish clear channels for employees to ask questions or discuss concerns.
3. Clarify expectations around out-of-hours contact, ensuring employees understand when they may need to respond.
4. Make it clear when employees can disconnect from work and when they might be expected to monitor or respond to contact.
5. Record each employee’s preferred out-of-hours contact method (e.g. personal phone) in HR systems.
6. Regularly review these arrangements to assess if changes are needed.
7. Implement clear processes for third parties to know who to contact during different hours, ensuring managers are copied into emails for urgent matters when an employee is unavailable.

This approach will help businesses adapt to the Right to Disconnect legislation while maintaining efficiency.

Do Employees Need to Do Anything?

It’s a good idea for employees to understand the Right to Disconnect amendment and to understand your rights. Make sure that you have your work hours clearly agreed with your employer, your preferred mode of contact recorded and that you understand your contractual obligations. If you wish for changes to be made, or have questions, then you can discuss these with your manager, internal HR department, or call the Fair Work Ombudsman for free advice.