[Australia] Right to Disconnect law passes amid fierce debate

Earlier this month in Australia, the government passed a Right To Disconnect law forbidding employers from contacting workers outside working hours. Penalties for breaches of the new legislation include jail time, The Register reports.

But the criminal sanction is poised to be overturned and the entire law could follow it if opposition parties and business groups have their way.

Companies in Europe have already introduced Right To Disconnect laws to offset the detrimental effect digital devices have on the boundaries between working hours and personal time. Employer-provided laptops or phones employers provide do have valid out of hours uses, however they open the door for workers to receive emails or text messages from managers and bosses at all hours.

These messages can come with the expectation of a response and labour rights organisations reportedly argue that such an expectation extends the working day without increasing pay.

Right To Disconnect laws seek to guarantee employees the right to not read or respond to messages from work.

Law firm Holding Redlich's told The Register that its perspective of the law is that it will allow employees to seek an order "that the employer stops unreasonable out of hours contact."

Reasonable contact concerns issues such as availability for work; something casual employees could be open to. But being asked to perform work out of hours could be refused under the law.

Australia's union movement has reportedly interpreted the laws the laws as a sensible post-pandemic rebalancing. Unions claim that many workers perform up to 280 hours per year of unpaid work.

The Business Council of Australia been critical of the legislation noting that it - and its criminal sanctions in particular - did not undergo lengthy debate before its passage.

"Everyone deserves to be able to switch off at home, though it's really important to get the balance right here given people are now wanting more flexibility and to work different hours in different ways," Bran Black - the Council's chief executive - said.

The Australian government has signalled its intention to immediately amend the law to remove the criminal penalties for bosses who insist on sending after-hours emails.  At present, it has only passed the nation's Senate and has yet to be confirmed by the House of Representatives.

The bill that introduced the Right to Disconnect also reportedly added requirements for operators of gig-work platforms such as Uber to establish minimum standards so rideshare drivers, delivery drivers and other gig workers are afforded "employee-like" benefits even if they are on the books as independent contractors.

Source: The Register

(Links and quotes via original reporting)

Earlier this month in Australia, the government passed a Right To Disconnect law forbidding employers from contacting workers outside working hours. Penalties for breaches of the new legislation include jail time, The Register reports.

But the criminal sanction is poised to be overturned and the entire law could follow it if opposition parties and business groups have their way.

Companies in Europe have already introduced Right To Disconnect laws to offset the detrimental effect digital devices have on the boundaries between working hours and personal time. Employer-provided laptops or phones employers provide do have valid out of hours uses, however they open the door for workers to receive emails or text messages from managers and bosses at all hours.

These messages can come with the expectation of a response and labour rights organisations reportedly argue that such an expectation extends the working day without increasing pay.

Right To Disconnect laws seek to guarantee employees the right to not read or respond to messages from work.

Law firm Holding Redlich's told The Register that its perspective of the law is that it will allow employees to seek an order "that the employer stops unreasonable out of hours contact."

Reasonable contact concerns issues such as availability for work; something casual employees could be open to. But being asked to perform work out of hours could be refused under the law.

Australia's union movement has reportedly interpreted the laws the laws as a sensible post-pandemic rebalancing. Unions claim that many workers perform up to 280 hours per year of unpaid work.

The Business Council of Australia been critical of the legislation noting that it - and its criminal sanctions in particular - did not undergo lengthy debate before its passage.

"Everyone deserves to be able to switch off at home, though it's really important to get the balance right here given people are now wanting more flexibility and to work different hours in different ways," Bran Black - the Council's chief executive - said.

The Australian government has signalled its intention to immediately amend the law to remove the criminal penalties for bosses who insist on sending after-hours emails.  At present, it has only passed the nation's Senate and has yet to be confirmed by the House of Representatives.

The bill that introduced the Right to Disconnect also reportedly added requirements for operators of gig-work platforms such as Uber to establish minimum standards so rideshare drivers, delivery drivers and other gig workers are afforded "employee-like" benefits even if they are on the books as independent contractors.

Source: The Register

(Links and quotes via original reporting)