Legal Update Alert: Right to Disconnect Now Applies to Small Businesses

As of 26 August 2025, the Right to Disconnect Law was extended to small businesses with fewer than 15 employees. This article is a quick overview of what this means.

What is the Right to Disconnect?

Enacted in August 2024 as part of the Closing Loopholes legislation, the Right to Disconnect Law gives employees of businesses with 15 or more employees the legal right to refuse unreasonable contact (calls, messages and emails) from an employer or a third party outside of their rostered working hours without fear of facing penalty from employers for doing so.

Factors that determine whether refusal of contact is reasonable include:

• The reason for the contact: contact may be considered unreasonable if it is not a genuine emergency requiring immediate attention.
• The nature of the employee’s role and level of responsibility. Are they the only one who could help mitigate the problem, or could it have been done without them or at a different time?
• The nature of the contact and how disruptive it is: is it a short text, a long phone call or a request to come into work outside of hours?
• The employee’s personal circumstances, e.g., family or caring duties and any other commitments.
• Whether or not the employee is on leave
• Whether or not the employee receives extra pay or compensation for being available after hours.

Employers and employees are expected to discuss the expectations for contact outside of hours, and come to an agreement that is mutually beneficial for both parties. The expectation should not be universal across all employees; someone working full time in a higher-up position of authority will have more responsibility than a casual worker.

It is important to note that the right to disconnect does not make it unlawful for an employer to contact an employee outside of hours. It means that the employee has the right to refuse to monitor, read or respond to unreasonable contact without adverse action or detriment.

The right to disconnect is in place to safeguard the work-life balance of employees. The application of this right must be balanced against the nature of employment and reasonable business requirements, subject to the provisions of the Fair Work Act. If you have any questions about how the right to disconnect affects your business, please do not hesitate to contact me. I am here to help.

DISCLAIMER: This article is for informational purposes only and does not constitute legal advice.