On 26 August 2025, employees of small businesses will commence having the right to disconnect from the workplace. This means employees can refuse to monitor, read, or respond to work-related contact outside of their working hours, unless their refusal is deemed unreasonable.
This change aligns small businesses with larger organisations who have been subject to these arrangements since 26 August 2024.
What defines a small business?
Section 23 of the Fair Work Act 2009 defines a small business as a business that employs fewer than 15 employees.
This count includes:
- Full time employees
- Part time employees
- Casual employees (if they are employed on a regular systematic basis)
What is the right to disconnect?
It is an employee workplace right which protects employees who refuse to monitor, read or respond to contact or attempted contact outside their working hours, unless their refusal is reasonable. Importantly, the workplace right extends not just to the employer seeking to make contact, but also to another person, such as a client or customer, where the contact is work related.
What should employers be doing before 26 August 2025?
We recommend that, before 26 August 2025, employers take the time to:
- Understand if and if so why, employees may be contacted out of working hours
- Understand if out of hours contact that is occurring is operationally required, or merely convenient to the person making the contact
- If out of hours contact/work is not genuinely operationally required, consult with effected employees about options and alternatives
- Understand if employees who are expected to engage in out of hours contact are compensated; for example, are they paid a salary which includes sufficient compensation for out of hours contact, if not are they paid an on call or standby allowance for times when they are expected to be available outside of working hours
- Consult with employees about what the expectations for out of hours work may be and agree on strategies or processes to be followed
- Ensure that any genuine out of hours requirements are clearly stated in position descriptions, and recruitment processes
- Ensure that employment agreements address this issue where relevant
- The workplace right belongs to the employee who can exercise it or not at their discretion, and therefore, consultation with employees to understand their preference should the need, or perceived need, arise to make out of hours contact
- Understand what constitutes “working hours” for an employee, as this may vary between employees.
How Exant can help
At Exant, our HR consultants understand that navigating new workplace legislation can be challenging—especially for small businesses with limited internal HR resources. Our team is ready to assist with:
- Policy development and review to ensure compliance with the new right to disconnect
- Training and education for managers and staff on how to implement and respect the new rules
- Dispute resolution support and guidance on Fair Work processes
- Tailored advice on balancing operational needs with employee rights
We’re here to help you prepare and adapt under these new regulations. If you have any questions about the right to disconnect, please contact your usual Exant advisor or alternatively our HR consulting team via the form below or on 07 3218 3900.
