Australia To Introduce 'Right To Disconnect' Laws: Workers Can Ignore After-Hours Calls And Messages Without Penalty

Australia is set to implement laws that will allow workers to disregard unreasonable calls and messages from their employers outside of work hours without facing any repercussions. This is part of a broader set of changes to industrial relations laws proposed by the federal government.

What Happened: The “right to disconnect” is a key feature of the proposed industrial relations laws, as reported by Reuters on Wednesday. The legislation, which is expected to be introduced in parliament later this week, aims to protect workers’ rights and restore work-life balance.

Under the new laws, workers will have the right to ignore unreasonable calls and messages from their bosses outside of work hours without facing any penalties. Employers who breach this rule could be subject to fines.

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Why It Matters: These laws are already in place in several European Union countries, including France and Spain. The legislation has garnered support from a majority of senators, including Employment Minister Tony Burke from the ruling center-left Labor Party.

The “right to disconnect” legislation is a significant development in the ongoing global conversation around work-life balance and employee rights. It comes at a time when the work culture in various industries is under scrutiny.

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Posted In: GovernmentNewsGlobalAustraliaEuropean UnionKaustubh BagalkotelaborRight To DisconnectWork Culturework-life balanceworkers
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