‘Bye boss, don’t call me’, Australia puts an end to annoying calls from employers | Economy

It will be recognizable to every employee. You just flop down on the couch, overtired, and your phone rings. It’s your boss, whether you want to do a quick job for him or not. Of course not, it’s after hours and he’s supposed to leave you alone. That’s how it should be for many people. But believe it or not: ignoring your boss is not always without consequences in Australia (and also in the Netherlands). If it is not expressly stated in the collective labor agreement, an employer can always call on you.

This is now coming to an end in Australia, writes CNN. Australia is introducing a law that stipulates that employees have the right to be inaccessible. This should protect them against stress and crushing workload, against the risk of burnout and other health complaints. Employers who continue to harass their staff outside working hours run the risk of hefty fines. The ‘right to disconnect’, as it is officially called, should protect the rights of Australian workers and help ‘restore the disturbed work-life balance’.

Years ago, France gave employees the right to remain unreachable after clocking out. French employers and employees must make agreements about this. Now Australia is also changing tack, and that is big news there. “What we are simply saying is that someone who is not paid 24 hours a day should not be punished if he is not online and available 24 hours a day,” Prime Minister Anthony Albanese said in conversation with Australian media. Sounds obvious, but not everyone agrees. Certain politicians and business leaders warn that the law will have a negative impact on flexible working and undermine competitiveness.

A majority in parliament therefore thinks differently about this. Initiator the Greens reached an agreement with Labor and smaller parties to support this bill, says Greens leader Adam Bandt on the social platform X. “Australians work an average of six weeks of unpaid overtime every year,” he says. That amounts to more than $92 billion in unpaid wages across the economy. “That time is yours. Not from your boss.”

Although the right to be inaccessible sounds logical, it is not officially laid down in law in the Netherlands. In 2021, the PvdA even submitted an amendment to the law that should regulate this right of inaccessibility. The Council of State then stated that such a change in the law is not necessary. The current Working Conditions Act (Arbowet) already includes provisions on ‘psychosocial labor tax’, according to the Council. The law provides frameworks within which employers and employees have been given the opportunity to make agreements about work pressure, even outside working hours. Moreover, the Council of State recognizes that ‘a growing number of people are experiencing burnout and that work is a common cause’.

The separation between work and private life has also become increasingly blurred in the Netherlands, said Gijs van Dijk (PvdA) when he submitted the bill. “After working hours you deserve the opportunity to clear your head and pay attention to the really important things in life,” said the Social Democrat. “And I think that your boss should no longer expect you to respond to emails, phone calls or messages.”

In some sectors, the right is laid down in the collective labor agreement, for example for healthcare staff at hospitals. Since last year, they have the right to suppress phone calls from their boss outside working hours without any consequences.

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