Right to Disconnect

It is important to note that this new law does not prohibit employers from contacting or attempting to contact their employees after hours. Instead, what this law does is allow employees to refuse to monitor or respond to contact outside their working hours, unless the refusal is unreasonable. This new law also allows employees to refuse contact from third parties (i.e. customers) if the contact relates to their work, unless the refusal is unreasonable.

The following factors will be considered in determining whether an employee’s refusal is unreasonable:

• the reason for the contact
• how the contact is made and how disruptive it is to the employee
• how much the employee is compensated or paid extra for:
  • being available to perform work during the period they’re contacted, or
  • working additional hours outside their ordinary hours of work
• the employee’s role in the business and level of responsibility
• the employee’s personal circumstances, including family or caring responsibilities.

By way of example, it would be reasonable to contact an employee after hours and expect them to respond in circumstances where you are contacting them on sudden changes to their roster the next day. However, it would be unreasonable to expect an employee to monitor calls from customers after hours in circumstances where they are not being paid for this work.

Any disputes between employers and employees as to whether a refusal to be contacted was unreasonable must first be attempted to be resolved at the workplace level (by discussions between the employer and employee). Only after discussions between the parties have failed can a dispute be lodged with the Fair Work Commission.

The Fair Work Commission will be producing guidelines in the near future after it has dealt with a few disputes and we will keep members updated of any further reforms in this area as it evolves.

Finally, this new law will commence for small employers (less than 15 employees) on 26 August 2025.

For further advice, MTA members can contact our expert team of workplace relations advisors on 8291 200 or wr@mtasant.com.au.