Employers and employees urged to take a 'common sense' approach
Small business employees across Australia now have the right to refuse after-hours work contact from their employers as the right-to-disconnect law takes effect for them.
Under the law, small business employees have the right to refuse to monitor, read, or respond to contact or attempted contact outside their working hours unless refusal is unreasonable.
The Right to Disconnect for small businesses took effect a year after it was implemented for larger businesses to give them additional time to adjust to the new requirements.
Fair Work Ombudsman Anna Booth said small business employers and employees should meet to set expectations on after-hours contact and what is suited to their specific workplace.
“We hope that people working in larger businesses have already had conversations about out-of-hours contact and set expectations in the context of their workplace and the employee’s role; now it’s time for small business employers and employees to have that conversation,” Booth said in a statement.
Adopt a 'common sense' approach
She reminded employers that the right to disconnect does not prevent them from contacting employees, nor does it prevent employees from contacting one another, including across time zones.
"We encourage workplace participants to educate themselves on the right to disconnect and adopt a common sense approach," Booth said.
"Like most employment matters, any dispute should first be discussed and sought to be resolved at the workplace level. Workers can be represented by a union if they are a member, and they want to be represented."
The Fair Work Commission will handle disputes on after-hours contact, according to the FWO. This includes issuing orders to stop an employee from refusing contact or prohibit an employer from taking certain actions.
"The right to disconnect is a workplace right," the FWO said.
"This means that employers cannot take adverse action against employees because of their rights at work, including the right to disconnect. Adverse action can include, for example, being dismissed (fired), being demoted, or being overlooked for promotion."
Impact of right to disconnect
Australia's right to disconnect has delivered benefits for employers who have embraced the legislation, according to a Robert Half report.
More than three in four (77%) employers said they noticed an improvement in employees' wellbeing and work-life balance in the past 12 months as a result of the legislation.
It also reduced unpaid overtime from 5.4 hours to 3.6 hours per week, according to the Centre for Future Work.
Despite these benefits, new data from HR platform HiBob found that just 30% of Australians feel confident enough to actually exercise their right to disconnect.
According to HiBob's data, 32% of employees still frequently receive work calls and texts, and 20% feel pressured to respond.
Anna Volkova, Head of People & Culture APJ at HiBob, attributed the situation to the lack of strong company culture and clear policies on the right to disconnect.
"While the law sets the expectation, the real work lies with employers to formalise policies, lead by example, and empower their people. This is especially true for managers, who are often at the frontline of this issue, but lack the training to navigate it effectively," Volkova said in a statement.
"Failing to address this key link will only fuel burnout and disengagement, jeopardising their most valuable asset: a healthy and productive workforce."
