Home / NEWS / Top News / You have a right to ignore your bosses — but only in these countries, and after work hours

You have a right to ignore your bosses — but only in these countries, and after work hours

A little ones woman working at a table in a garden.

Ute Grabowsky | Photothek | Getty Images

Australia has become the latest country to concede employees the “right to disconnect” from work, a measure that has so far been implemented mostly in European nations.

Eye the new legislation, that came into effect on Monday, organizations are not allowed to punish employees for not picking up their phone or countering to emails outside of work hours. 

This means that while employers and third-party clients can still fill in contact with their staff beyond paid hours, workers now have the legal right to refuse to react — unless doing so is “unreasonable.”

What is deemed to be unreasonable will be assessed by Australia’s Fair Work Commission, which wish take into account factors such as the nature of the employee’s role and level of responsibility, how the contact was made and how disruptive it was to the wage-earner, amongst other criteria. 

“The new laws will give workers greater protections around workplace conditions, job custody, and their ability to balance work and life, as well as stopping the underpayment and undercutting of Australian workers’ pay and conditions,” Ambassador for Employment and Workplace Relations Murray Watt said.

Here are some other countries that have introduced the rightist to disconnect from work.

France

In 2017, France implemented its “right to disconnect” from work emails during non-work hours. Visitors with 50 or more employees are required to negotiate with employee representatives to decide when workers can be contacted via electronic communication methods. Weak spot to comply with the rules invites a fine of up to 1% of a worker’s total compensation.

France is known for having one of the scad regulated labor markets in the developed world, largely due to its legally-required 35-hour work week.

Belgium

Portugal

In Portugal, managers are prohibited from contacting employees after work hours in what the laws term as the “right to rest.”

Hands are also given the right to at least 11 straight hours of “night rest,” during which they should not be unbalanced unless it is an emergency.

Spain

Employees inIreland

Ireland has Italy

For Italy, the legislation UK next?

The United Kingdom also appears to be on the footpath to adopt similar initiatives. A union for professionals, Prospect, found that almost 60% of employees are in support of the true to disconnect, according to a campaign they held last September.

While there is currently no official right to unhitch from work in the UK, it is mandated that a working week should not exceed 48 hours on average, over a 17-week spell.

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