The right to disconnect is a change to the Fair Work Act that grants Award-covered workers the legal right to refuse to monitor, read, or respond to work-related contact (or attempted contact) from their employer or a third party outside of their ordinary working hours, unless the refusal is unreasonable.

An employee’s refusal to monitor, read, or respond to work-related contacts outside of their regular working hours is unreasonable, depending on:

• the reason for the contact or attempted contact
• how the contact or attempted contact is made and the level of disruption it causes to the employee
• whether the employee is being paid extra for being available to be contacted to perform work when the contact or attempted contact is made, or for working additional hours in addition to their regular hours of work
• the nature of the employee’s role and level of responsibility, and
• the employee’s circumstances, including family and carer’s responsibilities.

Resolving disputes

The Fair Work Commission can make orders that include orders to stop:

• an employee refusing contact
• an employer from taking specific actions against the employee or
• an employer from contacting the employee outside of their normal working hours⁷.

If the dispute is not resolved, the employer may be fined up to $19,800.00.

Managing Employees ‘ expectations in respect of Right to Disconnect.

All on-call employees, such as IT Professionals, Electricians, and other technical workers, should have provisions in their employment contracts for on-call allowances either as an above-award payment that is offset against an on-call or all-out penalty in the relevant modern award.

Employers should have an on-call policy that outlines the circumstances under which employees may be required to be on call or called out.

CONTACT JOHN MORRISSEY (0407 069 507) TO DISCUSS YOUR BUSINESS HR ISSUES.

 The Fair Work Commission has increased the National Minimum Wage, effective from 1 July 2025.

The Superannuation Guarantee Legislation has increased the Superannuation entitlement to 12% of pay from 1 July 2025.

What is the change?

The Fair Work Commission has announced a 3.5% rise in the National Minimum Wage and minimum award wages, effective from the first full pay period after 1 July 2025.

The Superannuation contribution is also effective from the first full Pay period after the 1st July 2025

Key details for National Minimum Wage:

• National Minimum Wage: From 1 July 2025, the new rate will be $948.00 per week, or $24.95 per hour.
• Award Minimum Wages: Similarly, wages under awards will also see a 3.5% increase from the first full pay period starting after 1 July 2025.
• The new national minimum wage applies to employees not covered by an award or agreement. Those covered by awards will see their pay adjusted according to the latest award rates.

Superannuation is calculated on Ordinary Time Earnings (OTE). 

OTE does not include reimbursement of expenses incurred by the employee in the context of their employment.

For Example, A salesperson. In addition to his regular salary, he receives $300 per month to cover       expenses he is expected to incur while visiting clients, such as travel and mobile phone costs. The salesperson is likely to use the whole allowance in the course of visiting clients.

The $300 allowance is not OTE, salary, or wages because it’s not a reward for services.

The supernation contribution of 12% is not payable on the allowance.

What does this mean for you?

Adjust payroll: Update your payroll system to reflect the new minimum wage rates by 1 July 2025. Ensure that the changes take effect from the first full pay period commencing on or after this date.

Review employee agreements: If a registered agreement covers your employees, verify that the base pay rate in the deal is not less than the new minimum wage or award rate. Adjust if necessary to comply with the latest standards.

Communicate: Inform your employees about the changes in their pay rates before the implementation date. Clear communication will help manage expectations and maintain transparency.

NEED HELP? CONTACT JOHN ON 0407 069 507.

From August 26, 2025, small business employers, including those with award-covered employees, will be officially covered by the new Right to Disconnect laws. 

These laws give employees the right to refuse to monitor, read, or respond to calls, emails, messages, or other contact outside of working hours, unless it’s unreasonable for them to do so. This includes contact from employers, clients, suppliers, or any other individuals.

Is your business ready to manage the changes?

There’s been a lot of confusion about what the right to disconnect means, so here’s some myth busting based on common claims:

Myth 1: “It’s now illegal to contact employees outside their work hours.”

Reply: You can still contact staff, but they have the right to ignore it unless their refusal is unreasonable (e.g., emergencies, on-call duties, or if they’re compensated).

Myth 2: “If someone’s on call, they can still refuse to respond.”

Reply: If an employee is paid an on-call allowance, they’re expected to respond; the right to disconnect doesn’t override that.

Myth 3: “We’ve included reasonable additional hours in the contract, so we’re covered.”

Reply: Even with that clause, refusal to respond must still be judged on a case-by-case basis, taking into account the role, pay, personal circumstances, and the level of disruption caused by the contact.

Myth 4: “We’ll deal with it if someone complains.”

Reply: Leaving it too late can lead to misunderstandings, complaints, or even disputes. Proactive planning helps everyone stay aligned.

Important to know:

It’s not unlawful for you to contact employees after hours. Still, employees have the right not to respond, unless their refusal would be unreasonable (e.g. they’re on call, it’s an emergency, or they’re compensated for availability). 

Now’s the time to:

• Review your policies on out-of-hours contact
• Talk to staff about expectations and preferred contact methods
• Update position descriptions, contracts or internal docs as needed
• Provide training to help managers and staff navigate these changes

NEED HELP, PARTICULARLY IF YOU HAVE AN AFTER-HOUR CALL-OUT OBLIGATION TO CLIENTS? RING JOHN ON 0407 069 507.

The Social, Community, Home Care and Disability Services Industry Award 2010 (better known as the SCHADS Award) sets the minimum entitlements for a wide range of care-based roles. 

Issues for SCHADS Employers in Wollongong and the Illawarra 

Minimum engagements & broken shifts
Employers often misunderstand the new minimum hours requirements for casuals and part-timers, especially when shifts are broken up or cancelled. Even short shifts may now require a minimum of 2–3 hours of pay, regardless of the actual time worked.

Travelling
If a worker travels between client locations, that travel time is considered paid time. Many employers mistakenly assume it’s unpaid, a costly error if Fair Work gets involved.

Client cancellations
Cancelled bookings don’t automatically mean you can cancel pay. You must either pay for the time or provide compliant “make-up time” within six weeks, and this must follow strict notice and rostering rules.

Remote work & on-call rules
Employees working remotely or responding to calls out-of-hours are entitled to minimum payments and penalty rates depending on the time and context of work. The admin burden of tracking this accurately can be significant.

Increasing guaranteed hours. 
Part-time employees who’ve been working more than their contracted hours for 12 months now have the right to request a change to their guaranteed hours. Employers must respond within 21 days, and many fail to meet this requirement. 

Performance Management and Performance Improvement.
Ensure your workplace policies are effective and compliant, and that a clear Code of Conduct is in place.

Are you compliant or at risk?
Now is the right time to reassess, audit, and strengthen your compliance. 

• Audit your current rostering practices. Are you meeting minimum engagement rules and correctly applying broken shift allowances? 
• Review client cancellation procedures. Are your make-up time and notice periods compliant with award obligations? 
• Update your workplace employment contracts, policies, and procedures. 
• Train your managers and team leaders to understand rostering, shift penalties, and client cancellation processes

Ring John Morrissey for help 0407 069 507.

Businesses should obtain expert taxation advice. Depending on how much work a contractor performs for one principal and the nature of the work, tax and superannuation obligations may still exist for contractors. 

If an individual provides services as an independent contractor:

1. Does not quote an ABN when submitting an invoice for work undertaken; tax must be withheld at the top rate;

    

2. The contractor should be registered for GST and submit a tax invoice quoting an ABN and charging 10% on the supply of the services.

   Note: The contractor does not have to register for GST if the total annual contracting fees are less than $75,00 per annum. Businesses must regularly check with the contact to see if they have reached the GST threshold. 

    

3. Where a contractor performs over 80% of their work for one business, the business may be required to deduct tax from payments made to the contractor as if the contractor were an employee. If deductions are not made, the worker cannot subsequently pay their tax. In that case, the ATO may look to the principal for payment if it considers there was properly an employment relationship.

A contract worker can also be an employee for the superannuation guarantee legislation if the contract is wholly or principally for labour.

For HR Help in engaging contractors in Wollongong and the Illawarra, give John a call on 0407 069 507.

Work Cover NSW applies a “results” test to determine whether a contractor (who does not provide services through a corporation) is an employee. This generally requires establishing that a contractor has been engaged to achieve a specified result, supplies their tools and equipment and is responsible for fixing defects.

If the “results” test is not met, Work Cover will require the payment to the contractor to be included in the workers’ compensation insurance costs.

If the contract payment is not included in the worker compensation premium, a penalty of up to 100% of the relevant premium can be imposed on the business.