Australia grants employees right to ignore work calls, emails after office hours

The Australian government has introduced new legislation allowing employees to refuse or ignore work emails, calls, or messages after working hours. 

Under this law, employees are not obliged to respond to unreasonable calls or messages from their bosses after office hours.

Trade unions praised the legislation as an important step toward restoring work-life balance.

Australian Council of Trade Unions President Michelle O'Neill described the day as "historic," emphasising that Australians now have the right to spend quality time with their families without the pressure of constant work-related contact.

According to the new law, employees cannot face any repercussions for refusing to respond to work emails after signing off.

However, while employers are not barred from sending messages after hours, the legislation requires employees to ensure that their decision to ignore such communications is based on reasonable grounds.

To determine whether an employee’s refusal is reasonable, Australia’s Fair Work Commission (FWC) will examine the circumstances, including how, why, and for what purpose the employer contacted the employee.

If a company or employee violates the law, the commission may issue a cease-and-desist order, with penalties of up to A$94,000 for employers and A$19,000 for employees.

On the other hand, the Australian Industry Group criticised the government, arguing that the legislation was rushed and has created confusion regarding employee contact after office hours.

Michelle O'Neill provided an example of a worker, who finished a shift at midnight and was contacted four hours later to return to work at 6am. 

"It's so easy to make contact; common sense doesn’t get applied anymore. We believe this will cause bosses to pause and think about whether they really need to send that text or email," she said.

A survey by the Australia Institute found that Australians worked 281 hours of unpaid overtime on average in 2023, and the total value of this labor was A$130 billion (USD 88 billion).

A similar law was first introduced in France in 2017, and since then, it has been enforced in several European and Latin American countries.