Anthony Albanese says new ‘right to disconnect’ industrial relations laws will keep workers focused

Prime Minister Anthony Albanese insists the controversial “right to disconnect” laws will boost productivity because workers will be more focused, flatly rejecting the main concern from bosses about Labor’s latest IR changes.

Business leaders and the Opposition are warning that the new right allowing staff to ignore after-hours calls and emails will “crush” productivity and create mass confusion in workplaces.

There is particular concern about what it will mean for WA-based companies with staff on the east coast, particularly with the three-hour time difference during daylight savings.

Mr Albanese brushed off the criticism, arguing that the “commonsense” changes would create more productive workplaces.

“It’ll boost productivity,” he told ABC Sydney. “Because when people are actually loyal to their employer and focused on what they should be doing, and not being distracted 24 hours a day but focused on eight hours a day … 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 nine-to-five job isn’t reasonable and that will lead to better relations in the workplace.”

The new laws come into effect on Monday for businesses with more than 15 employees, along with changes to the rights of casuals and gig workers.

Small businesses have another year until their employees legally have the right to disconnect.

Shadow finance minister Jane Hume reiterated the Opposition’s commitment to look at rolling back the industrial relations changes if it wins government.

She dismissed Workplace Relations Minister Murray Watt’s claim that all the right to disconnect would do was start a conversation between employers and staff.

“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.

“Without flexible industrial relations laws, we are simply putting a handbrake on productivity, which is the only driver of economic growth and the only way we can have wage rises that aren’t inflationary.”

Senator Watt visited a Catholic high school in Canberra which already offered its staff a right to not respond to late-night emails or messages from parents and students, even before the new laws started.

“I’ve seen a lot of scare campaigning already from some of the employer groups and Coalition figures who are saying that this will be the end of the world, it’s too complex, it doesn’t recognise the benefits of technology,” he said.

“Well, here is a school in Canberra that is already adopting it, and I just saw kids and staff walking around getting ready for the school day. The world has gone on and actually workplaces that are adopting these types of practices are reaping the benefits in happier employees.”

Australian Chamber of Commerce and Industry chief executive Andrew McKellar said the main problem for businesses was the huge lack of certainty around what was allowed or not under the changes.

He anticipated there would be test cases emerging down the track but until the Fair Work Commission defined the limits in a judgment, it was up in the air.

“I’d say this is a solution looking for a problem,” he said.

“Our concern is, what we’ll see is in a number of cases, this will be used when the employment relationship is broken down. It’ll be another reason why there are claims or why there’s litigation.”