Australia: Employees allowed to ignore bosses' calls after work hours
Australia is gearing up to implement a groundbreaking "right to disconnect" law, which would allow workers to disregard "unreasonable calls," messages, and emails from their bosses when off the clock. The legislation is part of the ruling Labor Party's Closing Loopholes Bill, which aims to update industrial relations law in the country. The Australian Senate passed the bill on Thursday. Following in the footsteps of the West, the island nation is pushing to foster a healthy work-life balance.
Here's how the proposed law works
Employees who believe they're being contacted unnecessarily outside of work hours should first address the issue with their employer. If problem persists, they can take it to the Fair Work Commission for a stop order, potentially resulting in fines of up to $18,000 for non-compliant employers. Prime Minister Anthony Albanese said, "What we are simply saying is that someone who isn't being paid 24 hours a day shouldn't be penalized if they're not online and available 24 hours a day."
Similar law in place across Europe
Similar laws are already in place in France, Spain, and several other European Union (EU) nations. The Australian Greens party initially proposed a law last year to empower workers to speak up without fear. Greens spokesperson on workplace relations Barbara Pocock stated, "The intention here is to give some backup to that casual worker...so they can have a conversation without fear that they'll never get another shift." The Greens are in coalition with the Labor Party in Australia.
Australians work 6 weeks of unpaid overtime every year: Data
As per Greens leader Adam Bandt, Australians work an average of six weeks of unpaid overtime each year, totaling over A$92 billion in unpaid wages. In a separate proposal last year, the Labor Party and the Greens agreed that the country should trial a four-day work week on full pay and more than double the amount of paid parental leave (PPL) to 52 weeks. Notably, Australia is ranked as one of the best countries vis-a-vis work-life balance of employees.