What do these new laws mean and how will it affect you?

• Took effect from 26 August 2024 for businesses with 15 or more employees.

• The right will take effect for small businesses (less than 15 employees) from 26 August 2025.

• The right to disconnect does not prohibit an employer from contacting its employees outside their working hours, nor does it provide a blanket right for employees to ignore out-of-hours contact.

• Employees will have the right to refuse to monitor, read or respond to contact (or attempted contact) from their employer, where the contact is outside of the employee’s working hours, unless the employee’s refusal is unreasonable. The reasonableness of any such refusal will depend on the specific circumstances, and may be confirmed or overruled by the Fair Work Commission.

• It will encourage employers and employees to talk about contact out of hours and set expectations that suit the workplace and the particular role.

• According to Senator Pocock, the purpose of this right is to reestablish the boundary between work time and personal time, that has been eroded through the increased reliance on mobile phone and email contact, as well as the increased prevalence of work from home arrangements.