The right to disconnect

Numerous overseas jurisdictions have implemented “right to disconnect” laws — recognising that workers should be able to switch off outside of working hours. What’s the likelihood that we’ll soon see such laws implemented here? On this episode of The Lawyers Weekly Show, host Jerome Doraisamy is joined by barrister Ian Neil SC to discuss what “right to disconnect” laws are and why they have been implemented in overseas jurisdictions, how such laws operate overseas, whether the need to disconnect has been heightened since the age of COVID-19, and lessons legislators can take from the experiences in other countries. Mr Neil also outlines whether there is an appetite for introducing such laws in Australia (from legislators and employers alike), whether such rules against contacting staff outside of hours could even work in the post-pandemic professional services marketplace, and whether he thinks Australian lawyers will ever be able to do practice with such laws in place.