Australia: Workers Can Ignore After-hours Calls from Bosses

Monday, February 12, 2024

Australia will introduce laws giving workers the right to ignore unreasonable calls and messages from their bosses outside of work hours without penalty, with potential fines for employers that breach the rule.

Posted by lamplighter at 02:30 PM | 18 COMMENTS | permalink | Comment on This Entry |

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More from the article...

... The "right to disconnect" is part of a raft of changes to industrial relations laws proposed by the federal government under a parliamentary bill, which it says would protect workers' rights and help restore work-life balance.

Similar laws giving employees a right to switch off their devices are already in place in France, Spain and other countries in the European Union.

A majority of senators have now declared support for the legislation, Employment Minister Tony Burke from the ruling centre-left Labor party said in a statement on Wednesday.

The provision stops employees from working unpaid overtime through a right to disconnect from unreasonable contact out of hours, Burke said.

"What we are simply saying is that someone who isn't being paid 24 hours a day shouldn't be penalised if they're not online and available 24 hours a day," Prime Minister Anthony Albanese told reporters earlier on Wednesday. ...

#1 | Posted by LampLighter at 2024-02-11 06:39 PM | Reply

Unless otherwise stated, don't you always have the ability to ignore calls?

Even in the military, there is no obligation for you to have your phone turned on in case the boss calls.

#2 | Posted by madbomber at 2024-02-12 02:24 AM | Reply

That's what the chip (left ear access on older models) is for.

#3 | Posted by Doc_Sarvis at 2024-02-12 07:51 AM | Reply

Just another response to the damage that has been done employer/employee relationship, all in the name of saving a buck. Had this sort of behavior not become widespread, no law would have been necessary.

I once had a job where I might have to respond to a pager back in the day at any hour. Of course I was on salary but that company did provide perks for that requirement so I really didn't have bitches over a 2 am call. It was one of the responsibilities that came with the job. I guess the thing about that was it was up front what was expected. A truck coming in from Canada or Texas, might need the yard opened to unload at 2 am. One of the nice perks was a pickup for my personal use, among others.

My point in the above, was it was a trade off, you get benefits for doing the out of hours.

#4 | Posted by BBQ at 2024-02-12 10:31 AM | Reply

Unless otherwise stated, don't you always have the ability to ignore calls?
#2 | POSTED BY MADBOMBER

Of course you have the ability to ignore your boss's calls.

You probably don't have the ability to ignore your boss's calls and continue working for your boss, though.

#5 | Posted by snoofy at 2024-02-12 03:59 PM | Reply | Newsworthy 3

-The provision stops employees from working unpaid overtime through a right to disconnect from unreasonable contact out of hours, Burke said.

Non-exempt employees are already sort of protected on that here.

emails, calls, any correspondence after hours means you have to compensate the employee for their time spent on that....and that includes overtime if applicable.

IOW, it's not unpaid overtime here.

#6 | Posted by eberly at 2024-02-12 04:19 PM | Reply

It used to be that the only people "on call" were doctors.

These days they even want that from fast food workers. It's absolutely not reasonable.

#5: If YOU stop taking the boss's calls, you have a problem. If EVERYBODY stops taking the boss's calls, the boss has a problem.

Union YES!

#7 | Posted by DarkVader at 2024-02-12 06:05 PM | Reply | Newsworthy 1

Anybody else enjoy going out into the big bad world for a bit whilst leaving your phone behind? It feels wrong but also liberating at the same time.

#8 | Posted by hamburglar at 2024-02-12 06:09 PM | Reply

Most of my career I was subject to call, but I was paid for it. I got one hour straight time pay for every 24 hours on call, so not much but it added up and if I did get called out, I got overtime. I kept a "go-bag" so I could change clothes and respond from wherever I was. Sometimes child care was a problem, but my kids knew the drill. If my SO was at work also, I'd carry them in their pjs to the car and had friends and family on standby. My daughter jokes that she got used to waking up in a different place from where she went to sleep. When they were little, we celebrated holidays like Christmas and Thanksgiving a few days early or late, but eventually they couldn't be tricked so easily. It took a toll, but I had a choice, there were other less intensive assignments available. After 500 death investigations, I took one of those.

#9 | Posted by Miranda7 at 2024-02-12 06:39 PM | Reply

I created a form which allowed them to log their extra minutes of time and submit the total monthly for payment, or to trade for additional time off. At the same time, I made it clear that reporting late without good reason was not acceptable. The result was tremendous improvement in morale. The ones that were already exploitive were pissed, but the ones who had been more concientious saw their efforts rewarded. One guy accumulated an entire week of additional vacation.

#10 | Posted by Miranda7 at 2024-02-12 06:55 PM | Reply

Anybody else enjoy going out into the big bad world for a bit whilst leaving your phone behind?

#8 | Posted by hamburglar
_____________________________

I'm no longer on the clock, being retired. Most often my phone stays on the computer desk. Geofencing isn't going to do them a lot of good with me. To me the phone is a necessary evil. Can't do business without one. I'm also not one to be walking with my eyes focused on the screen all day. So leaving my phone behind is an every day thing now.

#11 | Posted by BBQ at 2024-02-13 09:10 AM | Reply | Newsworthy 1

Even in the military, there is no obligation for you to have your phone turned on in case the boss calls.

#2 | POSTED BY MADBOMBER

That would depend on your job. Are you "essential"?

If the government provides the phone you are obligated.

#12 | Posted by donnerboy at 2024-02-13 10:55 AM | Reply

Anybody else enjoy going out into the big bad world for a bit whilst leaving your phone behind?

#8 | Posted by hamburglar

When I go out I don't take my phone so people can call me. I take it so I can listen to music look up stuff and call who I want to talk to.

But then again I am retired and I don't have to play the game any more. I have leveled up.

#13 | Posted by donnerboy at 2024-02-13 10:58 AM | Reply | Newsworthy 1

Miranda 7, I'm intrigued by your resume. Police work, health care, how did that all meld? By health care I recall you have worked at a clinic providing reproductive services?

#14 | Posted by mattm at 2024-02-13 12:55 PM | Reply

This is not intended as a 'gotcha,' I'm curious.

#15 | Posted by mattm at 2024-02-13 12:55 PM | Reply

At one time I was put in charge of a team that had absent leadership for a while. In police work, it is inevitable that you have to stay late from time to time. . Some employees had gotten into the habit of arriving late, or handling personal businesss on duty to compensate for staying late on other days. Others didn't do this, but they were a resentful for the unpaid overtime. Our union contract allowed for overtime, but it hardly seemed worth it to fill out a form for a few minutes here and there.
I created a form which allowed them to log their extra minutes of time and submit the total monthly for payment, or to trade for additional time off. At the same time, I made it clear that reporting late without good reason was not acceptable. The result was tremendous improvement in morale. The ones that were already exploitive were pissed, but the ones who had been more concientious saw their efforts rewarded. One guy accumulated an entire week of additional vacation.

#10 | POSTED BY MIRANDA7

In the real world where you don't have near invincible police union protection, we also have a way of increasing morale:

You fire the burned out or unhappy employees and replace them with new suckers...I mean employees... They are happy to work late to prove themselves. And if not, we just replace them too.

#16 | Posted by Sycophant at 2024-02-13 02:34 PM | Reply

Even in the military, there is no obligation for you to have your phone turned on...

#2 | Posted by madbomber
__________________________

That depends on your job classification. During service we were required to have a phone if we lived off post. Got a call in the wee hours of post alert, which meant everyone in the battalion best show up.

They didn't tell us what was going on but it turned out to be anything but a test. No calls were allowed out of the unit. You couldn't call and tell your loved one it might be a while. Then we got directions to pack everything we had in the billets. Put it all in boxes with the home address.

After that was over, it was field gear and draw weapons, including platoon weapons. We were loaded on cattle trucks and taken to the military airport. Once there we were loaded on planes. After we were inside, only then did they tell us what was going on. Seems we were on standby for a flight to Lebanon. They planned to set down, fuel up and that was the last touch down before they returned to the states. We were to jump out over Lebanon.

At 5 minutes to take off, the flight was cancelled by presidential order.

#17 | Posted by BBQ at 2024-02-13 07:32 PM | Reply | Newsworthy 1

@#10 ... At one time I was put in charge of a team that had absent leadership for a while. In police work, it is inevitable that you have to stay late from time to time. ....

At one point in my career, as an exempt employee, I was told by my manager in no uncertain terms that he expected me to be onsite until at least 8:00 to 8:30PM each weekday, and that he expected me to work a full 8-hours one day each weekend.

He also called me on my company cell phone at early hours in the morning, expecting me to answer, for non-important things.

#18 | Posted by LampLighter at 2024-02-13 08:12 PM | Reply