Right to Disconnect Update

Employees have the right to disconnect from work outside of their standard hours, with protections under workplace general protection laws.

This means employees can refuse work-related contact, including from employers or third parties, outside of working hours unless it’s unreasonable. Employers cannot take adverse action against employees for exercising this right—such as denying promotions or applying pressure to respond to calls or messages after hours.

Key Dates

• 26 August 2024: Right to disconnect applies to non-small businesses
• 26 August 2025: This right extends to small businesses

What to Know

• Awards may clarify how the right interacts with emergency call-back or on-call duties.
• Employees receiving an on-call allowance may still be required to respond during agreed periods.

Tips

• Update position descriptions to outline any specific expectations around out-of-hours contact.
• Have open discussions with employees about potential after-hours communication. For example, a specialist engineer may not monitor emails but could still need to answer calls for critical emergencies.