Australians get 'right to disconnect' after hours

The law is there to prevent being discriminated against for not responding. Let's not forget that Oz is the ultimate nanny state, so it suits them.
If I had resources, I was going to lobby for this law in ZA. 😎
 
A customer once called me at 09H05 one evening to ask if I could open the store as she had forgotten to buy French polony for her kid's school sarmies....

True story!

:cautious:

But like surely your store runs 24hours a day Morty... I mean why would you do anything different?
 
A customer once called me at 09H05 one evening to ask if I could open the store as she had forgotten to buy French polony for her kid's school sarmies....

True story!

:cautious:
I can see where the confusion could have come in. I mean 09H05 is the morning, not the evening.

But we've all had days like that I think!!
 
Sure, but having the law on your side won't hurt
It already is. Unless you are required to answer your phone after hours because you find yourself in some kind of job where you are on stand-by and have to attend to breakdowns, you can safely ignore it.

If you get fired for not answering your phone after hours would be an easy victory for unfair dismissal.
 
It already is. Unless you are required to answer your phone after hours because you find yourself in some kind of job where you are on stand-by and have to attend to breakdowns, you can safely ignore it.

If you get fired for not answering your phone after hours would be an easy victory for unfair dismissal.
It'd not as simple as that. Labour laws have a lot of grey areas above certain threshold.
 
Read your employment contract carefully.

This law has come about because of that thing nobody talks about here- it's about the "being available 24/7" BS, whereby companies expect you to reply to emails after hours

They achieve this by expecting you to install Teams or Outlook on your phone, then they can get hold of you around the clock.
I've seen a lot of indoctrination in SA where people think their boss owns them, or they simply refuse to put up boundaries. In my current position, although remote, I have put up a boundary from day one- no Teams on my phone, no Outlook either.

Yes, this means I will be passed over for promotion and not get increases, but I have a long game in mind and the job is just a stepping stone.
 
Its a weird a law is required for this?

So at my company there are some people who need to be contactable after hours or "standby" if you want to use the term loosely. They are scheduled, its in their contract, and they accept that.

Outside of that, or when not on "standby" its just common sense that when they went home at 5pm, they are no longer required to answer messages, phone calls or emails.

ironically, many do. But I make a point of trying not to disturb them unless absolutely necessary.

Oddly enough, some have my bad sleeping habits/insomnia so its not uncommon to find them up and on our Slack channel with me at 3am talking nonsense and sometimes work.. lol,.
 
They will just re-do employment contracts to say that you need to be available 24/7. Accept it or find another job.

They could. The law also states that you have to be paid when you're expected to be available. So yeah, in that case I'd be happy to be available 24/7.
 
Nanny state.

Just don't answer the phone if it's an issue. If your boss is an unreasonable a-hole no law is ultimately going to make a difference. They'll work you out of the system one way or another, or at a minimum you're never going anywhere.

The law will not change things over night, but it can and will change things.

With the law, you can complain to the Ausie equivalent of the CCMA if they demand that you are available after hours without compensating you for it. If you are then worked out in one way or another, it will give you recourse for a wrongful dismissal claim since their demands were illegal.

Without the law your only option is to find another job.
 
The law will not change things over night, but it can and will change things.

With the law, you can complain to the Ausie equivalent of the CCMA if they demand that you are available after hours without compensating you for it. If you are then worked out in one way or another, it will give you recourse for a wrongful dismissal claim since their demands were illegal.

Without the law your only option is to find another job.

That's nice, but it's not the way the real world works.

In the real world the boss will ask very nicely who is available after hours, and will stress that you have every right to refuse and that it will in no way affect your job or career, and will even show understanding and empathy if you decline.

...and from then on you will be passed over for promotion and when it's retrenchment time no effort will be made to spare you. You will probably never realise why, because the boss and the company will continue being very sympathetic and supportive of your rights.
 
Nanny state.

Just don't answer the phone if it's an issue. If your boss is an unreasonable a-hole no law is ultimately going to make a difference. They'll work you out of the system one way or another, or at a minimum you're never going anywhere.
It's only ever a nanny state when the laws being passed protect people from corporations and all the psychotic **** they get up to.
 
...

...and from then on you will be passed over for promotion and when it's retrenchment time no effort will be made to spare you. You will probably never realise why, because the boss and the company will continue being very sympathetic and supportive of your rights.
It's the exact opposite actually. If you prove to your employer you are prepared to get up at 3am to sort out problems for them, they will not promote you away from that position because the next person may not be willing to do that.

They might compensate you with a little more money, but come retrenchment you will be over paid for your role and will the first on the chopping block. Retrenchment by its very nature requires employers to remove the emotion from the process, so no one is going to fight for you because they like you or you did them "favours". I say this as an employer.
 
Awesome for employers. They now get to see who gets retrenched first with no need for additional 'consulting' etc when the time comes for 'restructuring' :giggle:
 
If I had resources, I was going to lobby for this law in ZA. 😎
The likes of @rietrot are right. Why do you need the law in SA? You can simply ignore the call if you aren't on duty. Many people give away their time for free in hopes of currying favour with their bosses. They aren't forced.
 
Just be an adult and don't answer your phone if you don't want to. Asking the government to give you permission not to answer your own phone is really sad.
Until you get kak'ed out for not answering your phone...
 
The likes of @rietrot are right. Why do you need the law in SA? You can simply ignore the call if you aren't on duty. Many people give away their time for free in hopes of currying favour with their bosses. They aren't forced.
What do you do if you have statutory appointments?
 
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