‘Disorganised’ Management No Excuse for After-Hours Contact, Union Argues

The union has called on the Albanese government to “hold employers accountable” for proper staffing and planning to minimise out-of-hours contact. The right to disconnect laws passed by the Albanese government as part of its industrial relations bill will come into effect from Aug. 26, or a year later for small businesses. It was recently legislated through the Fair Work Legislation Amendment (Closing Loopholes No. 2) Bill 2023. Under the bill, workers can refrain from engaging in work-related communication outside of working hours while employers need to compensate employees for working out of hours or potentially face penalties. The bill, which was rushed through the senate in February in a last-minute deal with the Greens and crossbench, has faced pushback from the Opposition and business groups, which argued the change would add more “unnecessary complexity and rigidity” to the workplaces....