The ‘Right to Disconnect’ from work is currently being considered as a new right for employees in Australia. But what does this mean for employers and businesses?
The proposed legislation is intended to protect employees from being punished for refusing to take unreasonable work calls or respond to emails in their personal, unpaid time. By extension, it is designed to reduce employee stress levels and risks of burnout by limiting after-hours communications.
Given a recent report found the average worker was losing out on about $11,000 each year due to unpaid overtime, this proposed legislation would see greater protections in place for employees. Of course, employees can still choose to work after hours, and in some circumstances, after-hours work may be seen as ‘reasonable’.
Australia is not the first country to enforce measures to protect the right to disconnect from work. Many European countries have already implemented laws to address the blurring boundaries between work and personal life. From these, we know there have been some challenges in enforcing the right to disconnect particularly during a time where workers continue to push for flexible working arrangements – presenting a unique challenge for small businesses.
The following steps can support small-business owners to prepare themselves for the proposed changes:
- Consider the impact: Business owners should consider conducting an audit or review on the potential impact of a right to disconnect. For example, if your workforce had the right to not respond to calls or emails between 6.30pm to 8.30am, how might this impact your business operations? Consider whether these rights and protections need to be introduced into employment agreements and enterprise agreements – or conversely if agreements need to be amended to reflect the new legislation.
- Implement change: Now is the time to investigate some practical measures your business could take to ensure you comply with the proposed changes. It’s important to consider what your current policies and processes are for the use of technology out of hours as well as understand what you, your managers and team leaders expect of employees outside of hours.Take the time to ensure your management are ready for the proposed changes and what it means for their teams. Encourage your managers and team leaders to respect employee boundaries – educating them on the risk to the employee and the business should the boundaries be crossed.
- Talk with your team: Don’t forget to educate your employees on their rights and what you, as their employer, are doing to protect them. Make sure you have the right support mechanisms so that employees feel comfortable to raise concerns around their right to disconnect. Finally, continue to ensure employee wellbeing is a priority for your organisation, by providing relevant training that highlights the mental benefits of disconnecting from work and, where applicable, ensuring employee assistance programs are readily available to your people.
When navigating these changes, it’s important for small-business owners to keep in mind the actual purpose of the proposed legislation – that is to protect our workforces – giving them the ability to not have to think about work afterhours, overall allowing them to ‘switch off’ from work. Of course, most businesses and employers already do or want the right thing for their workforce – the new law simply would reinforce the need to protect employees, especially from those employers that do not.
