Australian employees now have the right to ignore work emails and calls after hours

The new 'right to disconnect' law means employees, in most cases, cannot be punished for refusing to read or respond to contacts from their employers outside work hours

Australians worked on average 281 hours of unpaid overtime in 2023, according to a survey last year by the Australia Institute, which estimated the monetary value of the labour at A$130 billion (€78.8bn). File picture: REUTERS/Jaimi Joy

Is your boss texting you on the weekend? Work email pinging long after you've left for home?

Australian employees can now ignore those and other intrusions into home life thanks to a new "right to disconnect" law designed to curb the creep of work emails and calls into personal lives.