PM says productivity will be boosted by right-to-disconnect laws. Canberra businesses ask, how?

Prime Minister Anthony Albanese says productivity in the workplace is likely to go up now that right-to-disconnect laws have kicked in, but Canberra businesses don’t see how that will be the case.

Canberra Business Chamber chief executive Greg Harford believes most employers in the ACT are already doing the right thing by their employees.

He doesn’t expect the new laws will have a great impact on local businesses, and he can’t see how they could be a vehicle for boosting productivity.

“The reality is good employers are already treating their employees well and they are not needlessly bothering them,” Mr Harford said.

“Compliance is the bigger issue and whether this has the potential to create a litigious environment, which isn’t helpful.”

From today (26 August), workers at businesses with 15 or more employees have the right to disconnect once they knock off.

That means they are now protected by law for refusing contact outside their working hours unless that refusal is unreasonable.

Employees can refuse to monitor, read or respond to contact from an employer or a third party.

Owners of smaller businesses and their employees have another year before the changes apply to them.

While the Coalition has criticised the move saying it will put a dent in productivity, the Prime Minister reckons the new laws will see improved workplace performance.

“You know what it’ll do? It’ll boost productivity,” Mr Albanese told ABC radio.

“Because when people are actually loyal to their employer and focused on what they should be doing and not being distracted during 24 hours a day – but focused on eight hours a day, or if they’re working longer hours than that, longer – you’ll get a more productive workforce.

“The idea that you should be on call at 10 o’clock at night if you work a 9 am to 5 pm job isn’t reasonable, and [the new laws] will lead to better relations in the workplace.

“It will mean that employers and employees have to have a common sense conversation about what’s reasonable and what’s not reasonable, and that will lead to better workplace relations.”

The Opposition has taken to the media to decry the introduction of the new rules. Shadow finance minister Jane Hume said they are unfair on employers.

She also questioned whether the term “unreasonable” could be agreed on between bosses and employees.

“It isn’t going to spark a conversation. It’s actually wrapping employers up in additional red tape and making some jobs completely unworkable,” she said.

“Adding more rights for workers for something that is just part of a normal working relationship is unreasonable, particularly for small businesses here, who just need to go and get the job done.”

The Business Council of Australia also questioned the impact the changes will have on productivity.

Chief executive officer Bran Black suggested the new laws could even adversely affect the nation’s commercial competitiveness.

“These laws put Australia’s competitiveness at risk by adding more cost and complexity to the challenge of doing business, and that means less investment and fewer job opportunities,” Mr Black said.

“At a time when productivity has flatlined and insolvencies are increasing, we can’t risk making it harder to do business with added red tape.

“Combined with the recent intractable bargaining and same job, same pay changes, we’ve now risked creating an environment in which it’s harder to employ people.

“I hear constantly from businesses large and small that the burden of increased workplace red tape is harder and harder to bear.

“We want to see more workplace arrangements set at the enterprise level to drive productivity and lift participation, and less heavy-handed government intervention with a one-size-fits-all approach that simply creates more red tape, rule complexity and cost.”

Unions have welcomed the new laws as a “cost-of-living win” and a “historic day for working people”.

ACTU president Michele O’Neil said the union movement had won the legal right for Australians to spend quality time with their loved ones without the stress of being forced to constantly answer unreasonable work calls and emails.

“The average person does five to six hours of unpaid work every week. Thanks to the introduction of this new law, Australians can now be paid for those hours of work,” Ms O’Neil said.

“Cost-of-living is the number one issue for working people. [Opposition Leader] Peter Dutton’s pledge to abolish the right to disconnect would risk the end of the weekend.

“It would mean longer hours, lower wages, and more stress in workers’ lives. We deserve leaders who are on the side of working people instead of the pockets of big businesses.”

The new laws also improve the rights of casual workers.

The Prime Minister said it would operate well because good employers have good relations with their employees.

“If someone is working part-time at the local supermarket and they want to go in and do an extra shift because someone has not turned up or someone’s called in sick, you know, that’s fine, that’s up to them,” he said.

“But they can’t be told, ‘No, you didn’t answer the call to work on Sunday when we texted you on Saturday night at 11 o’clock. Therefore I’m not going to give you any shifts, and I’m going to penalise you in the workplace.”

The Prime Minister said the whole intent of the law is to make sure that “just as people don’t get paid 24 hours a day, they don’t have to work for 24 hours a day”.