Veterinarians now have a legal ‘right to disconnect’ but where can AVA members seek advice?

In an aim to reduce burnout and improve the work life balance of employees, a new ‘right to disconnect’ clause has been introduced into Australian workplaces for businesses. 

Currently, this only applies to workplaces with 15 or more employees but will be expanded to includer smaller business from August 22, 2025.  

This allows veterinarians legal ground to stand on, if they are being regularly contacted by their employer during out of office hours, while on leave or when they are not on-call.

Under the change to the Fair Work Act as part of the Closing Loopholes Law, an employee may refuse to monitor, read or respond to contact from an employer or business third party (such as clients) outside of working hours, unless the refusal is unreasonable. This does not place a ban on employers contacting their staff after hours, but instead safeguards employees from facing punishment if they choose not to respond. 

The policy, which came into effect on August 26, 2024, was introduced to address advancements in technology that increases access to work emails and messages, fears about job security and increased instances of employees working from home, reducing their ability to switch off.  

It can benefit employees by promoting a healthier work life balance and mitigate burnout, leading to improved mental health and job satisfaction.  

This is not to say that employers cannot contact employees outside working hours, however the employee has the right to ignore this communication unless it is a reasonable circumstance. For both employers and employees, it is important to understand the specifications around the policy, including what would be deemed an unreasonable reason to refuse or ignore out of hours communication. The legislation outlines five matters that must be taken into account for reasonable and unreasonable refusal. 

The reason for contact/attempted contact: The more urgent or business critical, the more unreasonable it would be for the employee to refuse contact. 

• How the contact/attempted contact is made and the level of disruption caused the employee: For example; an email at 6pm versus a phone call at midnight. 
• Compensation: Is the employee compensated though allocation of extra payment/time off in lieu for being ‘on call’ or for work performed outside of working hours? 
• The nature of the employee’s role and their level of responsibility: For some roles, contact outside of working hours is necessary to perform the role. Generally speaking, the more senior the employee, the easier it is to justify some level of out of hours contact. 
• The employee’s personal circumstances: if out of hours contact is negatively impacting an employee’s caring responsibilities.
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• AVA Members can access the HR Advisory Service to seek clarity over the amendments and how veterinarians can be protected, including determining what is unreasonable refusal in your workplace, steps to deal with a dispute and more resources. The Service offers practical advice to employees regarding all employment issues, with a free telephone service available for AVA members to chat with experts who know the needs of veterinarians.