Australia's Senate Passes ‘Right to Disconnect’ Law

Australia’s Senate has passed so-called right to disconnect legislation to give employees the right to not respond to supervisors’ texts, emails and calls when they’re off work. Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese supports the measure.

We’ve gathered articles on the news from SHRM Online and other media outlets.

Reasons for Support

“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,” Albanese said at a news conference.

“The world is connected, but that has created a problem,” Tony Burke, the minister for employment and workplace relations, said in an interview with Australia’s public broadcaster. “If you’re in a job where you’re only paid for the exact hours that you’re working, some people are now constantly in a situation of getting in trouble if they’re not checking their emails,” he added. Workers shouldn’t be obligated to respond to messages during uncompensated hours, he said.

Other countries, including France, Spain, Portugal and Colombia, give employees the right to disconnect from employers while off duty.

(The New York Times)

Limits to Legislation

Barbara Pocock, the Greens Party’s spokesperson on workplace relations, said the new right applies to “all employees,” but clarified that the amendment “won’t disturb all kinds of changes where people are paid to be on call or where their job description requires it or where there’s an emergency.” The Greens Party supports the bill and introduced it last year.

(Independent)

Ontario Has Right to Disconnect

Ontario became the first jurisdiction in Canada to establish policies that granted workers the right to disconnect.

Opponents said the legislation might reduce productivity, as managers will have less oversight of when employees are actually working. In addition, workers who truly disconnect might be passed over for promotions or viewed as lower-performing employees.

(SHRM Online)

Legislation Part of Digital Transformation?

The spread of right to disconnect laws “is part of the whole digital transformation. Things are changing in all sorts of spheres so quickly that clearly the legislation is having problems keeping up,” said Raquel Flórez, a lawyer with Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer in Madrid.

(SHRM Online)