Is Australia’s workers’ “right to disconnect” a good idea?

Outside of regular working hours, Australian workers will soon have the option to decline calls from their bosses. In a further effort to combat overwork, the Australian Senate passed a bill on Thursday, granting workers the right to disregard calls and messages beyond their designated work hours without facing consequences. The bill will now undergo final approval in the House of Representatives.

The facts

The forthcoming legislation, anticipated to pass easily in the House, empowers Australian workers to reject “unreasonable” professional communication outside of their official workday. Employers penalizing employees for not responding to such communications could face fines.

During a press conference on Wednesday, Prime Minister Anthony Albanese remarked, “Someone who is not being paid 24 hours a day shouldn’t be penalized if they’re not online and available 24 hours a day.” This provision was a late addition to a set of proposed legal changes aimed at reinforcing workers’ rights. The broader legislation, which encompasses protections for temporary workers seeking permanency and establishes new standards for gig workers like food delivery drivers, underwent extensive debate.

The arguments

Australia is following the lead of European countries like France, which, in 2017, granted workers the right to disconnect from employers during off-duty hours, a move subsequently adopted by Germany, Italy, and Belgium. The European Parliament has also advocated for a bloc-wide law to relieve the pressure on workers to respond to communications outside of working hours.

Tony Burke, the Minister for Employment and Workplace Relations, expressed the challenges of a connected world, stating workers in jobs paid for specific hours often find themselves in a constant state of potential trouble for not checking emails during uncompensated hours. While Burke acknowledged the reasonability of employers contacting workers about shifts, he declared that employees should not be obliged to respond during unpaid hours.

The call for the right to disconnect has long been championed by unions and industrial groups. The issue gained prominence during the pandemic, as widespread remote work blurred the boundaries between home and work life.

Critics of the new legislation, including business groups and opposition lawmakers, argue that it is hastily implemented and government overreach. Concerns have been raised that it may hinder businesses in completing their tasks.

The legislation may incur significant costs for businesses, potentially leading to job losses and reduced opportunities. The opposition Liberal Party contended that workers already have legal protections against unreasonable working hours and questioned the effectiveness of the measures.

The legislation’s mechanism, placing the responsibility on workers to safeguard their rights rather than obliging employers not to contact staff at unreasonable hours, has also faced criticism.

Australia already offers various standardized benefits, including 20 days of paid annual leave, mandatory paid sick leave, extended “long service” leave for those with seven or more years at an employer, 18 weeks of paid maternity leave, and a national minimum wage of about $15 per hour. The country ranks fourth globally for “work-life balance,” according to an index, trailing New Zealand, Spain, and France.