What You Need To Know About the Right to Disconnect

We’ve all been there.

You have a busy day in work, you clock off. You close the laptop and attempt to decompress – go for a walk, watch a film, make some food.

Then it happens. Your phone lights up, you check your WhatsApp, and it’s your boss. They’re asking you to log back on and take care of something. Respond to a client, edit a spreadsheet, or God forbid, jump on a call.

You’re annoyed, but you sort of feel like you have to do it. You’ll get in trouble if you don’t. It’s expected.

This week, Australia officially passed a law giving employees the right to ignore calls or messages that come in outside of working hours, without fear of repercussions.

The Right to Disconnect does not ban employers from contacting staff outside of working hours, but gives workers the right to disconnect from their work if they so please.

This change came after a survey showed that Australians worked on average 281 hours of unpaid overtime every year, and is expected to lead to greater work-life balance among employees.

All of that sounds great, doesn’t it? But we do, in fact, actually already have the Right to Disconnect here in Ireland. Yes, really!

The code of practice “refers to an employee’s right to be able to disengage from work and refrain from engaging in work-related electronic communications, such as emails, telephone calls or other messages, outside normal working hours.”

It focuses on the right of the employee to refuse regular work outside of working hours, as well as the duty to respect an employee’s decision to do so.

The legislation was passed in 2021 in the midst of the Covid-19 pandemic, and applies to all workers – those who work remotely and those who don’t.

So the next time your boss texts you on the weekend, put your phone down, continue on with your day, and get back to them on Monday.

It’s your right.