Bosses are furious over the Albanian government’s new ‘right to disconnect’ rules, which could see companies face fines if they contact employees outside office hours to do unpaid work.
The provisions have been included in the government’s ‘Closing Loopholes’ bill to gain the required support from the Greens, so will be passed by parliament this week, after Senate senator David Pocock also backed the new laws .
The head of the Australian Chamber of Commerce and Industry, Andrew McKellar, called the new laws “ridiculous” and “a triumph of stupidity over common sense”, arguing that out-of-hours contact was best left to the decision of employers and employees are left.
“This is a bit of a thought bubble from the Greens,” McKellar told Sky News presenter Christ Kenny on Wednesday evening.
The head of the Australian Chamber of Commerce and Industry, Andrew McKellar, says the ‘right to disconnect’ provisions in Labor’s new labor laws are ‘ridiculous’
”Clearly this should be something that can be discussed between employers and employees.
‘In many company agreements we now see that there are completely sensible provisions, agreements on how these types of contact agreements should be made.
‘We have to find the right balance, but it is clearly not necessary for the government to impose itself here with legislation with sanctions.’
Mr McKellar argued that the new provisions would particularly hinder small to medium-sized businesses.
‘The working world is changing. We have seen tremendous transformation as a result of the pandemic and the response to it,” he said.
‘We have to look at how we are going to innovate in this area. But then trying to tie companies, small companies, mid-market companies in knots about how they manage these things…’
Perth Mayor and aspiring Liberal candidate Basil Zempilas also weighed in on the debate.
Perth mayor and aspiring Liberal candidate Basil Zempilas made it clear he’s not a fan of the new laws either
“Is this the way to move our country forward?” he tweeted, commenting on the new laws issued by Greens leader Adam Bandt.
“Is this the spirit with which we built our great nation? Is this the attitude that has allowed good people to work hard and get ahead? I do not think so.’
Mr Bandt set out his arguments for the ‘right to disconnect’ on X (formerly Twitter).
“Your boss shouldn’t be able to contact you unreasonably 24/7 if you don’t get paid for it,” he tweeted.
‘We know it is bad for stress, health and relationships. That’s why France and more than 20 other countries have introduced legislation to protect work-life balance.
‘We are about to do the same.
“Australians work an average of six weeks of unpaid overtime every year, amounting to more than $92 billion in unpaid wages across the economy. That time is yours. Not your boss’s.’
Prime Minister Anthony Albanese also defended the right to disconnect facilities on Wednesday.
“Someone who is not paid 24 hours a day should not be punished for not being online and available 24 hours a day,” Albanese said.
While employees currently face disciplinary action or dismissal for ignoring their bosses, the new law will protect their jobs if they don’t respond outside of work hours.
Under the proposed new laws, employers who require their employees to work unpaid overtime could be fined
Employers who violate the rule risk fines.
Similar laws giving workers the right to turn off their devices are already in place in France, Spain, Ireland and other countries in the European Union.
However, Business Council of Australia CEO Bran Black argued that such legislation in Australia could cause problems for employers with staff working in different time zones.
“This could be devastating for businesses across Australia and cause chaos for businesses in Western Australia, especially if employees could only communicate with East Coast colleagues in the narrow window between East Coast and Western business hours.” , Mr Black told the Australian Financial Review. .
‘Imagine if workers in Sydney or Melbourne were not allowed to send an email to a worker in Perth until noon to adjust to WA time, or if a Perth manager were to break the law by telling his or her colleagues the east coast to provide an update after 2 p.m.’
Workplace expert Natasha Hawker from Employee Matters claimed there is not a huge vote among employees for these types of laws.
‘Many Australian workers are currently very happy with working from home and realize that flexibility works both ways. And so they are very happy about that,” Mr Hawker told Sunrise.
Ms Hawker also warned of the extra administration it would impose on companies as a result of a ‘double up’, where legislation introduced last year forces every company to interview its employees.
She said that if out-of-hours contact was a problem “the survey would show if this was a problem and then you would start working on it, and most employers haven’t actually done that survey yet,” adding adding that they already put employers at ‘risk of fines’.
The expert added that since Covid, “(workplace power) has changed.”
“We are in the tightest candidate market in years,” she said.
‘So employees who don’t get what they want essentially vote with their feet and leave and it’s still incredibly difficult for us to recruit top talent at the moment.’
Due to the tight labor market, Ms Hawker says companies that contact employees too often outside office hours may find that “it could ultimately work against them.”
Ultimately, she said, “This is just another piece of legislation that they have to consider and comply with if it passes, if it passes.”