Those spying reference in the King’s Speech to the possible introduction of a “right to disconnect” for UK workers could be forgiven a degree of scepticism. Is such a thing really possible in a global business world? Here is the view from Australia, which is bringing in such a right next month.

From 26 August, the Fair Work Act (FW Act) will provide workers with a right to refuse to respond to contact from their employer outside work hours, unless the refusal is unreasonable. They will have the right to “not monitor, read or respond” outside those hours to contact from their employer (or work-related contact from third parties, e.g. customers and clients), without fear of disciplinary action or punishment at work.

When considering whether a refusal by the employee is reasonable, it will be necessary to consider:

• The reason for the contact or attempted contact (though how you know if you haven’t read it is a separate question)
• How the contact is made and the level of disruption it causes
• The extent to which the employee is paid to remain available at that time (such as an on-call allowance) or to work reasonable additional hours outside their ordinary hours of work
• Relatedly, the nature of the employee’s role and level of responsibility
• The employee’s personal circumstances
• If the contact or attempted contact is required under law

If the unpaid outside-of-hours contact continues or results in a dispute between the employee and employer, then the employee can seek the...

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