Bosses balancing business needs with staff's right to disconnect

Employers who contact their employees outside of working hours risk increasing the levels of sick leave, poor performance and demotivation

Employers who breach the ‘Right to Disconnect’ code introduced by the Workplace Relations Commission (WRC) may face fines, but the real impacts lie in business costs relating to employee demotivation. Photo: iStock

Employers who contact staff outside of working hours risk increasing the levels of sick leave, poor performance or in demotivated employees changing jobs.

While employers may be fined for breaching the ‘Right to Disconnect’ code introduced by the Workplace Relations Commission (WRC) in 2021, the bigger impacts relate to business costs.