There has been a lot of talk about the new ‘right to disconnect’ laws that took effect on 26 August 2024. Small businesses (under 15 employees) will not be affected until 26 August 2025.
The FWC has now published the wording for the new term that will be inserted into the Federal Modern Awards. A sample of the award term is attached here.
Section 333M of the Fair Work Act 2009 (FWA), provides that, unless it is unreasonable to do so, an employee may (has the right to, without adverse repercussions) refuse to monitor, read or respond to contact, or attempted contact, from their employer outside of the employee’s working hours; and from a third party if the contact or attempted contact relates to their work and is outside of the employee’s working hours. If an employer directly or indirectly takes adverse action against an employee for exercising the right, the employee can take action under the General Protections part of the FWA. Both section 333M and the new Award term list exceptions, when it will be appropriate for an employer to contact employees outside of their working hours.
The FWC will issue guidelines at a later date to assist employees and employers to understand how the new workplace right will operate. In the meantime, now is a good time to update your employment agreements and workplace policies to address the ‘right to disconnect’ and our employment law team can assist you with those reviews. You can reach them on 1300 068 736 or at [email protected].
