Your boss could be barred from contacting you after hours under a new bill

Key Points

Giving workers the “right to disconnect” is proposed as part of wider reforms to the Fair Work Act 2009.
It could legally empower employees to disconnect from work-related communication after hours.
Crossbenchers Jacqui Lambie and David Pocock have outlined their concerns about the reforms to the Fair Work Act.

Did you know there is a Go Home on Time Day in Australia?

It was observed on 22 November 2023 for the 15th time after being founded in 2009 by The Australia Institute, a public policy think tank. On the same day, the institute also released its research report Short Changed, which outlined a survey on unpaid overtime.

The conversation on an employee’s right to refuse to work overtime unless paid is being taken further by a raft of reforms set to be debated in federal parliament next week, of which the right to disconnect will be a highlight.

Disconnecting in this context refers to not taking phone calls, answering emails, text messages or being available for any form of digital communication after an employee signs off for the day. In Australia, 79 per cent of full-time workers have worked outside of their scheduled hours, according to a 2022 report from the Australia Institute’s Centre for Future Work.

79% of Australian full time workers report report working outside their scheduled hours.

The vast majority of full-time workers work outside of scheduled hours. Credit: SBS News

A Senate report has recommended giving employees a legal right to disconnect from work outside of hours.

“The message was that the current system isn’t working,” Greens senator Tony Sheldon and Labor senators Karen Grogan and Fatima Payman wrote in the final report.

What is the right to disconnect?

The right to disconnect is a legal right that was first introduced in France in 2017 to protect workers from being penalised for not answering their phones outside of working hours.

Since then, more than 20 countries have introduced similar policies including Spain, France and Ireland as well as the Canadian province of Ontario.

The 2023 study by the Australia Institute found that employers “steal more than 280 hours from their employees each year,” which equates to more than seven standard working weeks.

Graphic showing most common reasons to work overtime in Australia.

Many Australian workers feel they have to work overtime because their workloads are too big. Credit: SBS News

The 2022 Centre for Future Work report also found the most common reason people worked overtime was because of their workloads.

Some Australian workplaces, including Victoria Police, have right to disconnect policies.

However, there are currently no such policies at the federal and state levels.

Greens leader Adam Bandt wearing a suit and tie

Greens leader Adam Bandt first introduced the concept of the Fair Work Amendment (Right to Disconnect) Bill in 2023. Source: AAP

Why has the right to disconnect been introduced?

A right to disconnect bill was first introduced by Greens leader Adam Bandt last year and is set to be included by the government as part of its broader reforms of the Fair Work Legislation Amendment (Closing Loopholes) Act 2023.

The reforms include allowing casual employees to become permanent if they wish and allowing the Fair Work Commission to set mininum pay and conditions for ‘gig economy’ workers and truck drivers.

Workplace Relations Minister Tony Burke has circulated a draft of the right to disconnect amendment to key crossbenchers this week and is facing pressure from business groups to release it publicly.

How could Australians benefit from the right to disconnect?

Four in five Australians believe that a right to disconnect would be .

Consequences of health and wellbeing on working overtime

Research from the Australia Institute found that, working overtime has significant impacts on health, wellbeing and productivity.

The COVID-19 pandemic saw the lines blur between work and home as more people logged in from home and had an increase in managers reaching out to them, a study conducted by researchers in Australia, the US and Europe found.

Research from the Australian Human Resources Institute suggested that 64 per cent of employers believe a law or policy giving employees the right to disconnect would have a positive impact on the ability of employees to work flexibly.