Is a General Protection under the Fair Work Act 2009 that prevents employers from contacting employees outside of work hours, further, employees are not required to monitor, read or respond to work communications from their employer outside of work hours.

In the first instance employers and employees will have to try to resolve a dispute between them at the workplace level, however, if they are unable to reach an agreement, an employer or employee (or a person or industrial association representing them) will be able to go to the Fair Work Commission to seek orders on this right.

The right does not prohibit employers from contacting their employees, nor does it prevent employees from contacting one another, including across time zones. Rather, the employee will be able to refuse to monitor, read or respond to contact, or attempted contact outside of working hours, when they are not expected to be working or paid to be working, so long as doing so is not unreasonable.

The changes take affect on 26 August 2024 for non-small business employers; and 26 August 2025 for small business employers.

Rules will apply when determining whether an employee’s refusal is unreasonable or not.

Unsure how to keep up with Fair Work changes and manage compliance? Get Help With the Fair Work Act today call ISOsafe on 1300 789 132