The right to disconnect will come into effect for small businesses from 26 August 2025. This change gives employees the ability to switch off from work outside their standard hours of work, free from the pressure to remain constantly available.

For small businesses, where boundaries between work and personal time can often blur, this new obligation represents both a challenge and an opportunity. Understanding and implementing the right to disconnect is key to aligning with legislative requirements and fostering a positive workplace culture.

What is the right to disconnect?

Employees will have a right to refuse to monitor, read or respond to contact from their employer outside of their ordinary hours. Contact includes attempted contact and contact from third parties related to work, such as contractors, suppliers, external stakeholders or members of the public. Contact can be by any form of communication, such as email, telephone call, text, in person or social media.

This is a workplace right for the purpose of the general protection provisions of the Fair Work Act (FWA).

How do you determine if contact is reasonable or not

The right to disconnect does not apply if the employee’s refusal is unreasonable. The FWA outlines several factors to determine if refusing out-of-hours contact is reasonable:

1. Reason for contact: whether the communication is urgent or can wait until regular working hours.
2. Method of contact: how the employee was contacted (for example, phone call or email).
3. Level of disruption: the extent to which the contact interrupts the employee’s personal time.
4. Compensation: whether the employee is compensated for responding to out-of-hours contact.
5. Role of the employee: senior roles may have different expectations.
6. Personal circumstances: employee’s personal and family commitments.

Examples:

Urgent contact: An urgent request for critical information may require a response.

Non-urgent contact: A non-urgent email can likely wait until the next working day.

This approach doesn’t mean that flexibility disappears — it simply puts safeguards in place to prevent overwork and burnout, while promoting wellbeing and respect for personal time.

All modern awards now include a right-to-disconnect clause that clarifies how the right to disconnect works with emergency roster changes, stand-by and call back clauses.

What are the benefits to a small business?

While managing a small business often requires teamwork and adaptability, it is important to recognise the impact that excessive overtime or constant availability can have on productivity, morale and mental health.

The right to disconnect might benefit your small business by:

• Improving employee satisfaction: staff feel respected and supported, which can increase engagement and loyalty.
• Reducing burnout: creating clear boundaries prevents fatigue and ensures your team is energised and motivated.
• Enhancing productivity: rested employees are often more focused and effective when they’re working.

Preparing your business to ensure compliance

As a small business, there are simple ways to implement the right to disconnect:

1. Evaluate: review current out-of-hours contact practices and identify necessary adjustments.
2. Set expectations for flexibility: if after-hours contact or work is required of employees (such as senior managers), clarify this in advance and document in the employment contract or position description.
3. Lead by example: consider whether sending emails or messages outside business hours is actually required, as this sets the tone for your team to follow. Consider putting your own hours of availability in your email signature, creating greater visibility.
4. Offer training or policies: provide training to managers and consider establishing a policy to set and manage expectations.

Navigating potential disputes

If there is a dispute between the employer and an employee about the right to disconnect, the parties must first attempt to resolve the dispute by discussions at the workplace level.

If the dispute is not resolved, either party can ask the Fair Work Commission (Commission) to deal with the dispute. They can ask the Commission to make an order, or attempt to resolve the dispute through conciliation, mediation or expressing an opinion.

The Commission may make an order to stop an employee from refusing contact or to stop an employer from taking certain action, such as continuing to contact the employee outside work hours.

Frequently asked questions

Can employees be rostered or expected to work outside of standard Monday to Friday shifts?

Yes. The right to disconnect only applies to contact with an employee when they are not working or during their working hours. Subject to modern award terms and the National Employment Standards, employees may be required to work hours that are outside of the standard Monday to Friday, which might include weekends, late nights or early mornings. It is recommended that this expectation be clearly communicated to employees during recruitment and onboarding, and documented in the employment contract.

Can I send an email to an employee outside of their working hours?

Yes. There is nothing preventing a manager from emailing an employee outside of their working hours. It is recommended that managers communicate that employees are not expected to respond outside of work hours unless otherwise arranged, it is part of their role, or it is an emergency.

Can the employee be required to respond to the communication once they are at work?

Yes. The employee can be expected to action or respond to the contact once they return to work.

What if someone calls in sick and I need to contact other employees to find a replacement?

This is okay. You can attempt to contact employees outside of working hours to ask them to come into work. But you cannot require them to respond, or later discipline the employee for not responding unless the refusal is unreasonable.

What if it is an emergency, or requires an urgent response?

It is okay to contact an employee in an emergency. However, whether it is reasonable for them to refuse to respond will depend on the circumstances of the emergency, the nature of the employee’s role, terms of employment and reason why the employee could not respond.

If an employee is in a role that may be critical in an emergency or unexpected situation, any expectation to respond outside of working hours should be clearly communicated to the employee during recruitment and throughout the employment. It is also recommended that the method of contact is agreed upon – for example, that the employee is not expected to monitor emails but may need to respond to a call in an urgent situation.

How we can assist

Reach out to our team of experts to discuss how we can help you navigate the right to disconnect and establish guidelines to support both your business and your employees through this change.