A new law means you can finally ignore out-of-hours work calls and emails.

Do you have the right to disconnect from work? 

Hitting 'decline' on an incoming call from an overbearing boss after work is a guilty pleasure for many Australians - but now it is also an enshrined right. Today, new 'right to disconnect' laws come into effect, helping many Australians clock off in peace. 

From today anyone in a business of more than 15 people can enact their right, while those with less than 15 people will have to wait until August 22, 2025. 

The topic was debated in Parliament in February, deciding whether laws were needed to give Aussies more separation between their work and home life. The Federal Government pushed for industrial relations reforms to the Fair Work Act to be legislated, and now that has happened.

The legislation aims to close loopholes used by employers to undermine pay and working conditions, with employees having the right not to be contacted outside of office hours or set shift hours. 

Watch: the star signs when there's a problem at work. Post continues below.

"What we're simply saying is someone who's not being paid 24 hours a day shouldn't be penalised if they're not online and available 24 hours a day," Prime Minister Anthony Albanese told reporters this week.

The response from workers overall? Unsurprisingly positive, Aussie employees hoping these laws can create some stronger boundaries for better work-life balance.

As for the response from business owners, bosses and employers? Well... they're not as happy, and fair enough.

The Australian Industry Group called for more scrutiny of the reform.

"This is a solution to a problem that very rarely exists and there hasn't been a lot of evidence that this does exist on any sort of widespread or consistent scale," chief executive Innes Willox told ABC TV.

"Workplaces are a lot about give and take and employers understand that they have to work with their employees as well. The issue then is, what would be reasonable? And in law, that's always the difficult thing."

What the 'right to disconnect' means for employees.

Chat among your friends and family, chances are they have noticed their work life bleeding into their home life.

There could be a phone call after you've left work, a series of Slack notifications, or an email sent on the weekend that you 'need' to check.

Take, for example, the teaching profession. Last year, teachers from the Independent Education Union of Australia said the technological shift over the past few years meant teachers were always contactable by parents, which was leading to burnout.

The new laws won't prevent colleagues calling you. However, they will give the employee the right to refuse that call without retribution, at least, in theory. 

The ABC reports that employees can refuse when the contact is deemed 'unreasonable', although what is reasonable and unreasonable is not so clear. 

Fair Work Commission (FWC) is yet to provide parameters around this new entitlement, and will be using test cases to shape their eventual guidelines.

At this stage, any mediation needs to be done at a workplace level first before it is escalated to them. 

"When someone is only paid, be it nine to five or nine to three or ... whatever their hours might be, and that's all they're being paid, is it reasonable for them also to be expected to be regularly working outside of those hours without pay?" Minister Burke said. "If it's not reasonable, then what on earth can they easily do about it to be able to get it to stop?"

While some employees are paid allowances to cover incidental overtime, the laws would aim to tackle unreasonable unpaid hours. 

While what is 'reasonable' is still up for debate, but it's believed that minor run-of-the-mill matters would be considered ok to ignore, while emergency situations or problems involving highly paid senior employees may be considered reasonable.

What it could mean for employers and bosses.

The consequences of breaching 'right to disconnect' laws are dealt with by the Fair Work Commission, and could include mediation, conciliation or arbitration. The commission can also issue stop orders if the former actions are not effective. 

Once a stop order is breached, civil penalties such as fines can apply. 

The maximum personal penalty for breaching a stop order is $18,780 and $93,900 for a company.

Minister Burke said it is a "pretty light touch" concept that isn't aimed to create a build-up of fines, but to establish a principle that says "you're meant to be paid when you're working".

"We've got to make sure we don't create a problem," he noted. 

How the other political parties have responded to the proposed laws.

Greens leader Adam Bandt was in favour of the change.

"Too many people are under an enormous amount of stress and there's a lot of unreasonable contact that happens for people that makes it hard to have a good time with your family or to just recharge for work the next day," he said at a press conference. 

Liberals and Nationals opposed the new workplace laws.

"It isn’t going to spark a conversation, it’s actually wrapping employers up in additional red tape and making some jobs completely unworkable," said opposition finance spokeswoman Jane Hume. 

The success of 'right to disconnect laws' overseas.

Right to disconnect laws exist in several nations including Italy, France and Ireland.

In 2017 France introduced the right of workers to disconnect from employers while off duty, meaning employees don't have to take calls or read emails related to work during their time off.  

The European Parliament has also called for a law across the European Union that would alleviate the pressure on workers to answer communications off the clock.

With AAP.

Feature Image: Getty.

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