The Right to Disconnect

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Overview of the Right to Disconnect

The right to disconnect is a legal provision that enables employees to ignore work communications after their official working hours. This law aims to help employees maintain a healthy work-life balance by allowing them to switch off from work-related responsibilities during their personal time. Whilst already in place for larger employers since August 2024, as of 26 August 2025, small business employers need to comply with this provision. However, there are exceptions to this right, where employees may be required to respond to work-related communications outside of their normal hours.

Exceptions to the Right to Disconnect

Employees may be expected to respond to work communications if refusing to do so would be deemed unreasonable. Factors that determine this include:

· Nature of the Contact: If the contact is related to urgent work matters, such as emergencies or critical deadlines, it may be unreasonable for an employee to refuse to engage.

· Employee's Role: Higher responsibility roles may have different expectations regarding availability outside of regular hours.

· Compensation: If an employee is on-call or receives an availability allowance, refusing contact may be considered unreasonable.

• On-Call Situations: Employees who are on-call or working overtime may be required to respond to communications. For instance, if an employee is compensated for being on-call, they are expected to be available for work-related contact.
• Legal Obligations: If the contact is required by law, such as compliance with safety regulations or legal inquiries, employees may not refuse to respond.
• Workplace Agreements: Specific workplace agreements or contracts may outline additional expectations regarding after-hours communication, which could override the general right to disconnect.

So what does this mean practically and what can you do to prepare?

· Review your contracts and span of hours

· Consider if compensation is set to include reasonable additional hours

· Review and update position descriptions to include any out of hours contact/ work if this a requirement of the role

· Manage expectations of third parties, ie. your clients

· Encourage emails to be sent during working hours

· Review work and workloads

· Review relevant policies

· Engage with your team and leaders around what this means for them and your business

· Look at introducing time in lieu

Conclusion

While the right to disconnect empowers employees to maintain boundaries between work and personal life, it is essential to understand the exceptions that may apply. Employers and employees should communicate openly about expectations regarding after-hours contact to ensure clarity and compliance with the law. For any disputes regarding the right to disconnect, it is advisable to seek resolution through workplace discussions or, if necessary, through the Fair Work Commission. For further information regarding the right to disconnect and other new rules for small business go to Small business hub | Fair Work Commission.