Murray Watt explains meaning of 'unreasonable' in workplace context
Workplace Relations Minister Murray Watt is defending the government's new "right to disconnect" law amid criticism from employers.
Watt told Sky News on Monday that the legislation is trying to "bring back a bit more work-life balance into people's lives."
"So, what this is really about is giving employees a right to not have to be constantly checking those phones and emails, unless if it's unreasonable to do so," the minister said.
Employers across Australia have called out the lack of certainty in the legislation, particularly with the definition of "unreasonable."
"There's a lot of uncertainty. Until we see some of those claims emerging, until we see some cases coming forward in the commission or in the courts, then really, it's going to be up to them," said Andrew McKellar, chief executive officer of the Australian Chamber of Commerce and Industry, in a previous statement.
But Watt said working out the grounds for what's "reasonable" in the workplace will be between employers and employees.
"The best thing that can be done is for employers and workers to have a conversation about the nature of their workplace," he said. "What would be a reasonable thing for employers to be contacting people about after hours, and what wouldn't be?"
According to Watt, it would probably be "more reasonable" to expect a very senior employee at an organisation to be more in contact with their boss and responding to emails than a junior employee.
"If we're talking about junior people in organisations that aren't getting paid very highly, let's face it, a lot of the time when the boss gets in contact, it's something that can actually wait to the next day," he said.
"What we're asking people to do is just have a bit of respect for people's private life and recognise that they're not being paid after-hours to take those calls."
The right to disconnect is just one of the several changes in Australian workplaces that started taking effect this week, including casual employment reforms, among others.
