Shark Tank millionaire Kevin O’Leary has slammed Australia’s new right-to-disconnect law, calling it “so dumb” in a strongly worded social media post.
On Monday, millions of workers were given the legal right to ignore calls, emails and texts from their bosses outside of work hours unless the refusal is deemed “unreasonable,” leaving O’Leary stunned.
“If anyone tells me they’re on ‘silent mode,’ they’re fired,” the Canadian entrepreneur said in an impassioned post on X on Thursday.
The 70-year-old is best known as one of the venture capitalists who fund startups on Shark Tank and has an estimated net worth of $590 million (US$400 million).
“In Australia, employees can ignore their bosses outside of work hours,” he began his latest segment on Fox News.
“What if you have an event at the office and it’s closed, or you have an emergency somewhere and you have to contact them at 2 a.m. because it affects the work they’re working on and their tenure within the organization?” she asked.
“This kind of stuff drives me crazy, it’s so stupid. Who makes up this nonsense? That’s my question. Why would anyone propose such a stupid idea?”
O’Leary has a reputation as the most outspoken panelist on the popular business reality show.
Shark Tank millionaire Kevin O’Leary has slammed Australia’s new right to disconnect law as “so dumb” and questioned who would come up with such a “stupid idea”.
“If anyone tells me they’re on ‘silent mode,’ they’re fired,” the Canadian entrepreneur said in a fiery post on X on Thursday.
He is known for regularly voicing criticism of contestants’ business models and product presentations, sometimes earning him a backlash on social media.
He once jokingly offered a Dragon’s Den contestant he didn’t like $100,000 to “burst into flames.”
Under the new legislation, a court can order employees to stop unreasonably refusing to receive contact outside of working hours, and can also order employers to stop unreasonably requiring employees to respond.
The question of what is reasonable “will depend on the circumstances,” the Fair Work Ombudsman said in a statement.
The new laws will legally protect workers from being forced to take non-emergency calls and respond to emails outside of business hours.
“If someone tells me they’re on ‘silent mode,’ I’ll fire them,” O’Leary said when criticizing Australia’s new law on Thursday.
Employees of large companies may refuse to answer “unreasonable” calls from their employer outside of working hours. Failing to answer the phone will be unreasonable if contact is required by law.
If the law does not require responding to the call or email, reasonableness will be judged by the employee’s level of job responsibility, how disruptive the contact was, and whether the employee received compensation.
However, the changes do not prohibit an employer from sending the email or message outside of working hours.
Companies that violate the rules may be subject to civil penalties of up to $19,800.
The new federal laws will apply to businesses with 15 or more employees starting August 26, 2025. Smaller businesses have another 12 months to adapt to the change.
O’Leary is not the only celebrity to have spoken out about the new legislation. Radio host Kyle Sandilands recently warned Australian workers not to get too excited about the changes.
Kyle Sandilands has issued a warning to Australian workers as the government’s new “right to disconnect” laws come into effect on Monday
“That doesn’t mean you won’t get kicked out backstage,” the 53-year-old radio host said on his KISS FM show Kyle and Jackie O this week.
Kyle argued that while it would be illegal under the new legislation for bosses to punish workers for failing to respond outside of work hours, some unscrupulous managers could find ways to get around the laws.
“Don’t think for a second, ‘To hell with that real estate boss,'” Kyle said.
“Because sooner or later they will find a way to get rid of you so they can get around the limits.”
Kyle also urged all Australian workers not to abuse the system.
“You can say to anyone, ‘Oh, by law, I don’t have to answer that,’ and they’ll say, ‘Don’t worry about it.’”
“And then they punish you for every little infraction. You’ll go if they want you to go, one way or another. So don’t abuse the system.”
Kyle’s co-host Jackie O Henderson, 49, agreed with Kyle’s warning, adding that being contacted outside of working hours was a modern problem.
“I feel like that could happen,” Jackie said.
“I think sometimes it’s because working hours are endless these days. When you didn’t have email or a cell phone, you were never bothered outside of work hours.”
Kyle replied: “And nothing was done. It was the late 70s. The world turned very slowly back then.”
Premier Anthony Albanese responded to critics of the changes, pointing out that people are not paid around the clock and therefore should not have to work so hard.
“Frankly, it’s also a mental health issue for people to be able to disconnect from their work and connect with their family and their life,” he told ABC News.