Right to disconnect means employees of non-small-business employers have the right to refuse to monitor, read or respond to contact (or attempted contact) outside their working hours, unless doing so is unreasonable. This includes contact (or attempted contact) from an employer or a third party.
Employers and employees are encouraged to discuss contact out of hours and set expectations that suit the workplace and the employee’s role.
The right to disconnect rules don’t make it unlawful for an employer to contact an employee outside working hours. Instead, they give employees a right to refuse to monitor, read or respond to the contact, unless doing so is unreasonable.
The nexus
It’s important to remember the focus is on whether the employee’s refusal was unreasonable.
When working out whether an employee’s refusal is unreasonable, the following factors must be considered:
* The reason for the contact
* How the contact is made and how disruptive it is to the employee
* How much the employee is compensated or paid extra for being available to perform work during the period they’re contacted, or working additional hours outside their ordinary hours of work
* The employee’s role in the business and level of responsibility, and
* The employee’s personal circumstances, including family or caring responsibilities.
Other matters may also be considered.
It will be unreasonable for an employee to refuse to read, monitor or respond if the contact or attempted contact is required by law.
For excellent insights and tips into compliance with, and management of, the new law, log on to fairwork.gov.au.