A worker can legally ignore calls and texts from their boss outside of work hours because the right to disconnect has been established, but companies warn there is uncertainty about how it works.
Workers across Australia can now refuse to monitor, read or respond to work communications outside of paid working hours, unless doing so would be unreasonable.
Industrial Relations Minister Murray Watt said this would depend on seniority and type of role, and encouraged workers to have a conversation with their boss.
“What it’s really about is getting a bit more of a work-life balance back into people’s lives,” he told Sky News on Monday.
“What we’re asking people to do is to have a little respect for people’s privacy and recognise that they’re not being paid outside of work hours to take those calls.”
Young employees who are not highly paid should not have to take calls on trivial matters that could wait until the next day, Senator Watt said.
Workers like Lizzy Grant, who spent hours checking her phone for up-to-the-minute updates on her workforce and answering emails from her boss, are expected to benefit from the reduction in unpaid hours.
Ms. Grant went from working full-time in public service to working part-time in airline customer service because she wanted to spend more time caring for her elderly mother and watching her grandchildren grow up.
The laws have sparked intense political debate among unions, business groups and other advocates, with opposition leader Peter Dutton vowing to repeal them if elected.
The right to disconnect does not apply in an emergency, and determining what is reasonable includes the reason for the contact, how disruptive it is, the nature of the person’s work and their personal circumstances, including caring responsibilities.
The provision allows for some leeway, as “reasonable” is a broad concept, according to Dr Sandra Martain of Curtin University.
Workers can now refuse to monitor, read or respond to work communications outside of paid hours under new laws introduced by the Albanese government
But the restless Ms. Grant found that her 20-hour workweek often swelled into a 40-hour workload as she constantly responded to emails and text messages about airline technical issues such as dangerous goods and cargo checks.
But a worker could be expected to answer a call during an emergency situation or highly paid senior employees could be expected to return calls, Senator Watt said.
Business groups and the coalition are questioning what the term “unreasonable” means.
“This is not going to spark conversation, it’s actually squaring off extra bureaucracy for employers and making some jobs completely unworkable,” said opposition finance spokeswoman Jane Hume.
The right to disconnect means workers can ignore calls from their bosses outside of working hours when it is reasonable, but companies are outraged by what that means.
“Adding more rights to workers for something that is simply part of a normal employment relationship is unreasonable, particularly for small businesses here that simply need to go and do their job.”
Business Council of Australia chief executive Bran Black says this puts Australia’s competitiveness at risk.
“At a time when productivity has stagnated and insolvencies are rising, we cannot risk making it harder to do business with more red tape,” he said.
The government’s reforms also improve the rights of self-employed workers and provisions for temporary employees to transition to permanent employment.
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