In Australia, workers are now legally protected if they
ignore their bosses after work hours, a new right
to disconnect law came into force on Monday designed to
protect their personal time from work emails and calls.
The rule ensures that employees in most cases cannot be
punished for refusing to read or respond to contact from
their employers outside of working hours and for bosses or
companies insist authorities can intervene and even slap them with
a several$1000 fine. Supporters argue the law gives
workers the confidence to stand up against the steady invasion
of their personal lives by work, emails, texts
and calls. Rachel Abdul Noor who works in advertising
in Sydney said the changes would help her disconnect in
an industry where clients often have different working. I
think it's actually really important that we have laws like
this. We spend so much of our time connected
to our phones connected to our emails all day.
And I think that it's really hard to switch off
as it is. Australians worked on average 281 hours
of unpaid overtime in 2023. According to a survey
by the Australia Institute, think tank. They valued
that time some$88 billion. With this law,
Australia joins about two dozen countries with similar protections including
France, which introduced its own regulations in 2017.
While the law aims to support better work life balance
, it also recognizes the need for emergency contact,
allowing employers to contact staff when necessary.