In today's digital world, work and personal life often blend together, leading to stress and burnout for many employees. Australia has introduced new "Right to Disconnect" legislation, aimed at easing the pressure of work-related communication outside of regular hours. This law applies to everyone, but it's flexible. For example, if your job requires being on-call, some after-hours contact may be expected. I'm a huge champion of flexible work arrangements, but clear boundaries are crucial. Employers and employees need to work together to set these boundaries and communicate effectively about expectations. In my newest role, I discussed remote work expectations with my managers from the offset. As an Executive Assistant, I understand the need for after-hours calls, but we agreed that emails can wait until office hours. A simple text suffices for urgent matters. Establishing these expectations from the outset has cultivated a work environment centered on trust and flexibility. As we navigate flexible work, let's keep communication open and respect each other's boundaries. It's the key to a healthier work-life balance for everyone.
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Are you always on at work, even after hours? The blurred lines between work and home are becoming clearer as employees navigate remote work and constant connectivity. Stay informed about your rights as Labour proposes reforms, including a new "right to disconnect" to protect work-life balance. Will these changes become law, reshaping how we work and rest? Read more on this at The Hype Economy. #WorkLifeBalance #RightToDisconnect #LabourReforms
What Rights An Employee Is Entitled To | An Overview
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Everyone talks about work-life balance. ⚖ ⚖ ⚖ In the US, there seems to be both a huge push for it and also a large counter "grindset" mentality movement. Talks of work-life progress during the pandemic's remote work era are by and large coming to an end with return-to-office mandates. For workers who get paid by the hour, disconnecting when you were off the clock used to be simple: you went home. Now with technology keeping us connected 24/7, that no longer holds true. In other places it's not just talk. Australia just passed a bill that gives workers the right to disconnect outside of scheduled hours. They join the likes of France and Portugal who have enshrined work-life balance into law. Even Kenya has a bill in the works! Employers: no matter where you fall on the debate, the global workforce is evolving.
Australia could soon allow workers to ignore office calls and emails outside contracted hours
businessinsider.com
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Should US workers retain the right to disconnect when not in the office? Australia recently introduced a law that would allow workers to actually disconnect from work when they aren't on the clock. For years business and work has elbowed its way into our personal lives with significant force. Many workers have become accustomed to checking email occasionally while out of the office or on vacation. It's not uncommon for an employee to receive a text or call from their boss during off hours. It seems many have lost the ability to truly disconnect from their work and it is having a significant impact on individuals' ability to actually rest and recharge. But here's the rub, in the past decade, many organizations have displayed a willingness to allow personal life to encroach upon business hours. Stepping out of the office for a child's class party, taking personal calls at the office, and the expansive implementation of work from home policies have blended the lines between our personal and professional lives. One might ask, is it healthy? The double edged sword: Here's where this new legislation could negatively impact the worker. When there are stricter policies on when an employer can expect responses from an employee, it may force organizations to become more strict with how time is utilized during business hours. If we can limit work's impact on our personal lives, will employers begin to limit the amount of personal obligations/calls/texts that an employee can field while they are on the clock? Now, most companies won't take this hard lined approach, but we must remember that for every action there is an equal reaction. This begs the question "What will be the reaction of businesses that are already fighting a losing battle for their team members attention?" Great article by Natasha F. and Isabella Kwai! #companyculture #employeeexperience #workfromhome The New York Times https://lnkd.in/ds66WcFV
Australia Introduces Workers’ ‘Right to Disconnect’
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NO RIGHT TO WORK FROM HOME A recent case of the Fair Work Division of the Federal Circuit and Family Court has found that an employer has not impeded it's employees workplace rights by denying the employees request to work from home. What this means for Employers This decision affirms that the right to work from home is ultimately at the discretion of employers. While employers can deny requests to work from home and direct employees to work in the office, it is important to note that any direction must be 'lawful and reasonable'. A direction is lawful and reasonable except if it is contrary to a government directive (for example, the directions given during the COVID pandemic), or another law. Employees whose jobs can be done from home and have a legitimate reason to work from home may have grounds to argue that a direction is not reasonable. In particular, certain employees have rights to request flexible working arrangements under the National Employment Standards (NES). More information from the Fair Work Ombudsman regarding flexible working arrangements is available here. While a lot of workplaces have wound down on flexibility arrangements following the COVID pandemic, some workplaces choose to offer work from home flexibility arrangements, particularly as employees increasingly view this as an attractive benefit. As such, we recommend that work from home arrangements are tailored to your individual workplace's needs. It is important to have stringent policies in place if you do choose to offer employees work-from-home flexibility. ASSISTANCE Information provided in this post is general only, and it does not constitute legal advice and should not be relied upon as such. HRGS provides no warranty as to its accuracy, reliability, or completeness. Before taking any course of action related to this post, you should make your own inquiries and seek independent advice (including the appropriate legal advice) on whether it is suitable for your circumstances. Our HR Advice Service is here to help businesses manage their workplace and compliance issues. Employers requiring assistance, support, and guidance, please call us at 1300 46 47 47 or visit us at www.hrgs.com.au. #hrgsbusinesspartner #hrgsnews #hrgshelp #hrgsadvice #hrgsconsulting
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✋🕘 THE RIGHT TO STOP 🕔✋ Following their win in the general election this month, Labour has set out a wide range of employment law changes they propose to make within their first 100 days in power. One notable policy is the “Right to Switch Off”, which prohibits employers from contacting their staff outside of their contracted hours. While this announcement has created much debate in the media, with many raising concerns over the implications of such a move, this topic of debate gave us an opportunity to reflect on the comparisons with our own "right to stop" policy and how it has helped us establish a productive culture of work-life harmony over the years. What does this policy mean for our team? Our founder, Chris Cranshaw, explains more: "Successfully separating your work and home life is a balancing act. This is an ongoing endeavour that will take on unique forms for each member of our team. But as our client’s expectations grew in our early years as a business, it was crucial that we established a standard practice to make sure that everyone was able to find a happy medium between the demands of work and the needs of their own personal lives. In addition to ensuring that none of our team members are contacted by their manager, colleagues or even myself outside of their contract hours, we also request that they do not add their email accounts to their personal devices to prevent them from monitoring emails in the evenings and weekends. In addition to this, we also strongly discourage them all from sharing their personal contact information and engaging in any kind of work-related communication or discussions with our clients after 5 o'clock in the evening. However, everyone in our team can use their MacBook for personal use, so we've taken great care to make sure that our internal communication channels and tech stack don’t send alerts during out-of-work hours. We’ve also made a point of not using client’s own messaging apps and collaboration tools that could alert them to work-related communications and intrude on their free time. The success of this stance is evident in the regular feedback we’ve received from our team since the policy was introduced in 2021, highlighting the improved quality of life and mental wellbeing our team members have achieved outside of work. I am personally very proud that this very simple policy has worked for our team, and I hope our own experiences serve as a good case study for any business leaders worried about how this possible change could impact how they engage and communicate with their teams." #Halt #HaltAgency #Halteregos #Scrollstoppers #RecruitmentMarketing #Recruitment #WorkLifeBalance
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Faegre Drinker's Erika Collins and Brooke Razor write: The law takes effect on August 26, 2024, for employers with 15 or more employees and August 26, 2025, for employers with 14 or fewer employees. ... Australia joins a growing list of countries that have recognized a right to disconnect from the workplace. The trend started in France in 2017 and has become increasingly popular in Europe and globally... #australia #righttodisconnect #workhours #remotework
Australia Set to Join Growing List of Countries Recognizing “Right to Disconnect” From the Workplace
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Exciting news for Australian employees! 🇦🇺 Starting August 26th, the "Right to Disconnect" law will grant you the legal right to switch off from work outside regular hours. 🕒 The Fair Work Commission has released key details, outlining a phased rollout for compliance. Employers, get ready to adjust practices to respect this new legislation! 🚨 Check out the full article on our website to learn more about the benefits, concerns, and implications of this game-changing law for work-life balance 👇 https://buff.ly/3xWLYsX -------------------------- Join our free daily newsletter for the latest updates on work-life balance laws and more: 📩📩📩📩📩 https://buff.ly/3QlzuB6 📩📩📩📩📩 -------------------------- #RightToDisconnect #FairWorkCommission #WorkLifeBalance #EmploymentLaws
Right to Disconnect: Will it work for Australian workplaces?
dynamicbusiness.com
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There have been some bold statements being made in the media after the controversial passing of the Closing Loopholes No.2 Bill particularly in regards to the Right to Disconnect. This pivotal move could mark a transformative chapter in Australia's work culture, potentially reshaping how employees interact with their jobs outside of traditional office hours. 𝐁𝐮𝐭 𝐰𝐞'𝐫𝐞 𝐡𝐞𝐫𝐞 𝐭𝐨𝐝𝐚𝐲 𝐭𝐨 𝐥𝐞𝐭 𝐲𝐨𝐮 𝐤𝐧𝐨𝐰 𝐢𝐭'𝐬 𝐧𝐨𝐭 𝐚𝐥𝐥 𝐝𝐨𝐨𝐦 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐠𝐥𝐨𝐨𝐦! This change is all about how and when we can contact employees after work hours. For businesses, it means rethinking the rules around emailing, calling, or messaging staff outside their working hours. What adjustments will be needed to comply with this law, and how will it affect everyday communication in your workplace? Our latest article dives into these crucial questions, offering insights on what businesses might need to do to adapt 👇 #righttodisconnect #closingtheloopholes
The Right to Disconnect & What It Really Means for Your Business | HR Dynamics
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Should the right to disconnect from work be legislated? Is this something that could this be addressed with employers and employees directly through open dialogue, reasonable (agreed upon) expectations and plausible boundaries? Other creative solutions for work-life balance? This brings up so many things for me...before I soap box-I want to hear what it brings up for you... Including 2 articles here with slightly different perspectives... https://lnkd.in/gvQZMkRQ.
Your boss could be fined $100 for bothering you after work under a newly proposed California law
cnbc.com
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Is it possible to blend flexibility with the right to disconnect? 🤔 Australia is set to pioneer legislation that lets employees tune out work messages after hours guilt-free. But what does this mean in practice? Our CEO Ben Thompson weighs in for Dynamic Business: "A balanced approach is required – one that respects employees’ rights to disconnect while preserving the advantages of flexible work and creating less complexity for managers.” Curious to learn more? Dive in here: https://lnkd.in/gjQpnT4t #worklifebalance #flexiblework #righttodisconnect #EmploymentHeroAU
Right to Disconnect: Can we have flexibility without overwork?
dynamicbusiness.com
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