[Insert business
name]
Right to disconnect policy
This policy was adopted on
Date of last revision:
1. INTRODUCTION
1.1 [Name of
Employer] is committed to fostering a safe and healthy work environment
for all employees while remaining productive.
1.2 [Name of
Employer] acknowledges employees’ right to disconnect from work outside
of working hours, where reasonable, as enacted under the Fair Work Act 2009 (Cth).
1.3 This Policy strives to ensure that all employees are treated, and treat
others, in a manner that balances productivity with overall health and wellbeing by
setting out [Name
of Employer]’s expectations around work-related communications in an
effort to assist everyone in the workplace.
2. PURPOSE
2.1 The purpose of this policy is to establish guidelines in relation to the
right to disconnect in the Fair Work Act and to outline a process for dealing with
any disputes that may arise in the workplace in relation to it.
3. DEFINITIONS
3.1 Working hours means the hours of work outlined in employee’s
employment contracts (or for shift works, their rostered hours) and/or applicable
modern award or enterprise agreement including overtime.
3.2 Out of working hours contact means work related communications
outside of an employee’s working hours, which may include emails, phone calls, video
calls, instant messages, texts, and requests through collaboration platforms.
3.3 Right to disconnect means an employee’s not monitoring, reading or
responding to contact (or attempted contract) from [Name of
Employer], its employees, customers, clients or suppliers where the
contact relates to work and is outside of the employees workings hours, unless it is
unreasonable to do so.
4. SCOPE
4.1 This policy applies to all employees employed at [Name of
Employer].
5. WORKING HOURS
5.1 This Policy does not amend an employee’s hours of work or breaks.
Employees’ working hours and breaks are defined pursuant to [their
employment contracts and/or applicable modern award, enterprise
agreement].
6. DISCONNECTING
6.1 [Name of
Employer] will take steps to ensure all employees are informed of their
working hours.
6.2 “Right to disconnect” under this Policy means not monitoring, reading or
responding to contact (or attempted contract) from [Name of
Employer], its employees, customers, clients or suppliers where the
contact relates to work and is outside of the employee’s workings hours, unless it
is unreasonable to do so.
6.3 To help determine whether an employee’s refusal to monitor, read or
respond to contact is ‘unreasonable’, the following factors will be relevant
considerations:
the reason for the contact or attempted contact;
the method of contact and level of disruption it causes
the employee;
the extent to which the employee is compensated to remain
available or perform additional work outside of their ordinary hours;
the nature of the employee’s role and the employee’s level of
responsibility, and
the employee’s personal circumstances (including family or caring
responsibilities).
6.4 Additionally, [Name of Employer] considers that it is reasonable to
expect that employees will respond to communication where the communication is
urgent or relates to an emergency. Examples of urgent communication or emergencies
may include but are not limited to:
• Insert
relevant details
6.5 In the event of an emergency or urgent communication, [Name of
Employer] will contact an employee [insert
method(s) of communication].
6.6 An employee’s right to disconnect does not preclude , its employees, customers, clients or suppliers
from contacting employees for work-related purposes outside of an employee working
hours.
7. ROLES AND RESPONSIBILITIES
7.1 [Name of
Employer], its [management, supervisors, leaders] and employees must
work together to ensure [Name of Employer] fosters a culture that allows
employees to disconnect from work outside of working hours in accordance with this
Policy.
7.2 All employees must:
understand and comply with this policy;
monitor, read, respond to contact or attempted contact outside of
their working hours that is reasonable;
give due consideration to the timing of their communication with
other employees;
take all reusable steps to ensure that other employees are able
to disconnect from work in accordance with this policy;
fully cooperate with any time recording methods which
[Name of
Employer] uses to track hours of work;
follow the reporting procedure in this Policy to raise
any concerns regarding the right to disconnect; and
seek guidance where necessary.
7.3 [Managers, supervisors, senior leaders] have additional
responsibilities on top of those as an employee. It is expected that they:
ensure all employees understand and comply with this policy;
make reasonable endeavours to not contact employees
unreasonably outside of their working hours;
to refrain from subjecting employees to adverse action (e.g.
disciplinary action) for refusing to monitor, read, or respond to unreasonable
contact outside of their working hours;
take seriously all concerns about breaches of this policy,
try to resolve any concerns, and where necessary treat such concerns
confidentially; and
provide guidance and support that is sought where required.
8. DISPUTE RESOLUTION
8.1 If an employee has concerns about their right to disconnect outside of
their working hours, they should first speak with their [supervisor/manager/leader]
to deal with the issue.
8.2 In the event the issue is not able to be resolved with their
[supervisor/manager/leader], employees are directed to
raise the issue with
[human
resources representative or a senior manager. Include name, title, and contact
information].
8.3 [Name of
Employer] has a dispute resolution procedure
for dealing with these issues.
8.4 The dispute resolution procedure has numerous options available to suit
the particular circumstances of each individual situation.
8.5 The manner in which a complaint will be handled is solely at the
discretion of [Name of
Employer].
8.6 The following are examples of ways in which complaints regarding the
right to disconnect may be dealt with.
Confront the issue
(a) if an employee feels comfortable doing so, they should address the issue
with the person concerned and make them aware that they find the behaviour
unreasonable.
Report the issue
(b) if the behaviour continues, or if the complainant feels uncomfortable or
unable to speak to the specific individual(s) directly, they should speak to their
[supervisor/manager/leader].
(c) the [supervisor/manager/leader]
will aim to deal with the employee’s complaint in accordance with this Policy,
including:
• Options
here
Dispute Procedure
(d) there are a range of procedural options for facilitating discussions
between the person concerned and the other party to the dispute.
(e) the procedure used to address the issue will depend on the individual
circumstances of the dispute. Possible options include, but are not limited to:
(i) [supervisor/manager/leader] discussing the
issue with the other party to the dispute;
(ii) [supervisor/manager/leader] facilitating a
meeting between the parties in an attempt to resolve the issue and move
forward; and/or
(iii) a formal investigation.
