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.
