Right to disconnect laws hit small businesses 26 August, giving employees legal power to ignore after-hours contact. Are you prepared?
What’s happening: Right to disconnect laws extend to small business employees from 26 August 2025, giving them legal power to refuse monitoring, reading or replying to after-hours contact unless refusal is unreasonable.
Why this matters: Small businesses have just days to implement policies and cultural changes that large companies spent an entire year developing, with the success depending on how confidently employees actually exercise their new rights.
The countdown is on. In just over a week, Australian small business owners will face the same workplace reality that’s been reshaping larger companies since 26 August 2024: employees who can legally ignore your weekend messages.
The right to disconnect gives employees the power to refuse contact outside working hours from employers or third parties, unless doing so is unreasonable. While big companies have had 12 months to navigate this new landscape, small businesses are scrambling to understand both the legal requirements and cultural implications with less than a fortnight to go.
“Over the past year, the Right to Disconnect has become a regular feature of my day-to-day advisory work,” says Warwick Ryan, Partner in Workplace Relations, Employment and Safety at Hicksons | Hunt & Hunt. “I’ve supported clients in updating employment contracts, drafting policies, and navigating the often-grey area of what constitutes ‘reasonable’ out-of-hours contact.”
The timing coincides with another significant change: eligible casual employees at small businesses can now issue written notice to convert to full-time or part-time employment under the employee choice pathway.
The reasonable test challenge
The central challenge facing small business owners lies in defining what constitutes “unreasonable” refusal to respond to after-hours contact. Unlike prescriptive regulations, this legislation deliberately allows flexibility, but that same flexibility has left many employers uncertain about boundaries.
“A key challenge has been navigating the ambiguity around what constitutes ‘unreasonable’ out-of-hours contact,” Ryan explains. “The legislation rightly allows for flexibility, but in practice, this has left many employers uncertain about where to draw the line, particularly for roles involving client responsiveness, urgent operational needs, or after-hours collaboration.”
Small businesses preparing for disconnect rules face particular challenges around international reporting lines, where communication across different time zones is the norm.
Fair Work’s guidance suggests considering factors like the employee’s role, level of responsibility, personal circumstances, and whether compensation is provided for out-of-hours availability. But translating these principles into day-to-day practice requires nuanced judgement calls.
Cultural shift takes time
While the law changes overnight, workplace culture moves much more slowly. Ryan predicts it might take “a few more years before employees really feel confident to exercise this right,” particularly in client-facing or leadership roles where there’s still an implied sense of availability.
The disconnect laws are part of a broader package of workplace changes, including expanded rights to request flexible working arrangements and more flexible parental leave options. Together, these changes are empowering employees to have clearer conversations about boundaries and more sympathetic work design.
“For many employees, especially those in client-facing or leadership roles, there’s still a sense of implied availability that can be difficult to shift overnight,” Ryan notes. “However, where the legislation has been embraced proactively, through leadership modelling, policy change, and education, we’re seeing a genuine shift in expectations around after-hours communication.”
Implementation strategy
Fair Work has created resources specifically for small businesses, including three videos covering the rules, how to discuss them with employees, and practical implementation steps. These videos include subtitles in Traditional Chinese, Simplified Chinese, Vietnamese, Korean, Thai and Arabic.
The guidance emphasises understanding when refusal might be unreasonable, accessing tailored award information for specific industries, and developing clear internal processes for managing disputes.
“Proactive education and clear internal processes have been key to successful implementation,” Ryan says, highlighting that some organisations are still grappling with balancing availability and wellbeing without compromising productivity.
The confidence gap
A critical factor determining the law’s practical impact will be employee confidence in exercising their rights. If employees believe using disconnect rights will limit their career progression, the legislation won’t achieve its intended goals.
“How it is embraced by employees generally will influence whether, practically, it strikes a balance,” Ryan explains. “If employees feel intimidated or believe that exercising this right will be career-limiting, then it will not have achieved its aims.”
Early indicators suggest cultural expectations remain a strong influence, particularly in high-performance environments. However, businesses dealing with disconnect laws are gradually seeing shifts where leadership actively models respectful communication boundaries.
The immediate challenge for small businesses is implementation, but longer-term questions around remuneration for after-hours availability are likely to emerge. Ryan anticipates that Fair Work Commission and Federal Court decisions will eventually clarify whether employees willing to have their after-hours time intruded upon are entitled to appropriate compensation.
“These challenges will likely evolve alongside broader shifts in the way we work,” he says. “As hybrid and flexible models become more entrenched, the tension between availability and autonomy will remain front of mind for employers.”
The prediction is for more sophisticated approaches to managing these issues, potentially including sector-specific norms, stronger regulatory guidance, or technological solutions that help automate boundaries.
For small business owners facing the 26 August deadline, the message is clear: while the legal framework provides flexibility, success depends on proactive policy development, clear communication with employees, and genuine cultural change that makes disconnect rights feel safe to exercise.
The conversation around sustainable work practices isn’t disappearing. As Ryan puts it: “In five years’ time, I expect we’ll be talking less about ‘disconnecting’ and more about building smarter, healthier models of engagement.”
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