Australia sets employees’ right to disconnect from internet

previously this yearLast year, the country passed legislation that gave workers what many crave: the ability to ignore their boss after work.

The law, which was passed in February and came into effect on Monday, covers what is also known as the “right to disconnect.” Now, millions of Australian workers’ phones could be swimming with bloated, exotic Australian fish when they unplug. In this new article, exposed workforce In fact, most employees cannot be punished for not responding to their bosses outside of their work hours.

Employers can still contact employees after the workday, but don’t expect them to respond to text messages. That’s because the legislation “protects employees who refuse to monitor, read, or respond to a call or attempted call outside of their working hours, unless their refusal is unreasonable,” according to the Press materials From Australia’s workplace tribunal, the Fair Work Commission (FWC).

FWC is set to More wisdom What disputes are unreasonable based on factors including, but not limited to, the nature of the work, the reason for the call, and whether the employee is being paid for overtime.

If a worker is found to be blowing their line unnecessarily, the Fair Work Commission can issue fines of up to A$19,000 for an individual employee or up to A$94,000 for a company, per employee. ReutersOn the other side of the water, that equates to about $13,000 for the directors and $63,700 for the guilty company.

Australia isn’t the only country that has recently tried to help employees maintain work-life boundaries. In 2017, France announced He had the right to fire him, and he wasn’t kidding either, as pest control business owner He was fined €60,000 just one year later for not following the law.

Since then, such legislation has gained momentum in parts of South America and elsewhere in EuropeIn the midst of the pandemic, and with remote work becoming more common, these rules have become more prevalent and urgent. While employees may not have the same strict working hours, their schedules are more ambiguous and sometimes lead to longer working days In short, the borders were eroding.

In the United States, Overtime pay It has been reduced to the point where employees now put in an average of nine unpaid hours In overtime hours each week, according to a 2021 ADP survey. There are no “right to disconnect” rules in the country, although legislation was recently introduced in California.

Communication has probably never been easier with the advent of Zoom, Slack, and all the other corporate tools that cause minor inconvenience, creating the opposite of the Pavlovian response in the office worker. It’s simply a modern phenomenon that needy bosses have your number.

“It’s so easy to make connections, common sense no longer applies. We think this should make employers stop and think about whether they really need to send that text or that email,” Australian Council of Trade Unions president Michelle O’Neill told Reuters.

She described the recent passage of the law as a “historic day for workers,” although not everyone is happy about it, especially those who represent employers.

“The right to disconnect laws are hasty, poorly thought out and extremely confusing,” the Australian industry group said in a statement distributed by AFP, warning that employees could become confused about scheduling extra shifts after work hours.

However, Prime Minister Anthony Albanese is likely to be pleased with this Australian winter day.

“What we are simply saying is that someone who is not paid 24 hours a day should not be penalized if they are not online and available 24 hours a day,” he said earlier. February.

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