Australia's Right to Disconnect laws will soon apply to small and medium-sized (SMB) businesses. These laws give employees the legal right to refuse to monitor, read, or respond to work-related communications outside of regular working hours unless this refusal is unreasonable. For SMB retailers dependent on flexible staffing and responsive employee communication, immediate compliance planning is essential to maintain operations in compliance with the law.

The Fair Work Ombudsman has developed a resource specifically for SMB businesses preparing for this here. I do not think it's particularly good, but I do not see anything better now. The truth is, probably they do not know either.

Understanding Right to Disconnect Laws in Australia

The Right to Disconnect legislation will encompass all forms of work-related unreasonable communication outside employees' scheduled hours, phone calls, emails, SMS, social media communications, etc. It also includes communications from clients, suppliers, or any other third parties that employees receive in their work capacity.

The law's reasonableness assessment considers five key factors: -Reason for contact: Is it urgent or routine? -Method and disruption level by phone calls or emails -Employee's role and responsibility -Family obligations and caring responsibilities -Payment for after-hours availability

SMB Business Challenges with After-Hours Communication Laws

SMB retailers face unique operational challenges. Unlike large corporations, small businesses operate extended hours with casual staff requiring flexible scheduling.

Traditional after-hours communication practices now need immediate review. Shift coverage, roster changes, and supply chain responses must comply with new legal boundaries.

Consider the operational scenarios that regularly occur in SMB retail environments.

Staffing Emergencies

A casual employee calls in sick shortly before their shift begins, and an urgent and immediate replacement is required.

Staff schedules

Current staff schedules often mean there may be no time when your entire team are all at work together to receive crucial operational information.

Operational Disruptions

A delivery issue requiring urgent staff notification, which will affect next-day operations.

Security and Safety

Emergencies such as security system alerts may require immediate management response. A while ago at work, an alarm was triggered, followed by a second alarm, and we had to send someone down immediately to look.

I would say that an employer should be able to contact an SMB employee in all these circumstances, but I am not a lawyer, and it's not my view here that matters. If you find out, please let me know so that I can update this article.

POS System Rostering

Our rostering system worries us because it often operates on an automated schedule to send notifications. Up to now, they may have been sent regardless of time, which may potentially violate the new law. These systems typically generate automatic communications about shift changes, schedule updates, or system alerts without considering whether recipients are currently working or available to receive such information. If your current POS Software is set to automatically send roster notifications, shift confirmations, or operational updates outside standard business hours, you need to review and adjust its configuration.

We are looking into making some changes to our software now.

Tips

Here are some tips to help you with this law.

1) Make a communication policy

Establish a procedure that addresses both routine needs and emergency needs. Ensure all staff are familiar with it. Let them know which email addresses or telephone numbers you will use. I suggest that you send them an email with the details to have a written record.

It gives employees greater control over managing work-related messages through the filtering systems in their email systems and notification settings on their mobiles. Then the employee can, if they want, create filters for work-related communication.

Establishing clear emergency communication helps distinguish between actions requiring immediate response and matters that can wait until regular hours.

2) Company email addresses

Whenever possible, use an organisation's email addresses for all work-related communications for employees and suppliers, as this creates clear boundaries between personal and professional contact. If, for example, Joe Blow works for ABC Pty Ltd, always use the ABC company email address if possible. We do this now in our company.

3) Insurance Management

Contact your business insurance provider to find out if you have coverage to protect you for the Right to Disconnect.

4) Industry-Specific

If you are a member of a retail industry association, it would be worth asking them what "reasonable" after-hours communication is. You will probably find that your Industry associations have already developed best practice guidelines for your industry.

5) Consider the time to send. Often, a communication can be delayed to a more reasonable time. For example, if it's 3:40 am and I need to send someone a communication, I will schedule that communication to be sent at 8:00 am. Emails and SMSs have ways to schedule.

Implementation Timeline

We do not have much time; these laws come into effect on 26 August 2025, in about 4 weeks. Immediate action is required.

-Audit your current communication practices

-Check out the Fair Work Ombudsman SMB resources above

-Find out if you are covered under insurance

-Contact your industry body

-Make a communication protocol

-Update employment contracts

-Communicate policies to all staff

-Implement system changes

Written by:

Bernard Zimmermann is the founding director of POS Solutions, a leading point-of-sale system company with 45 years of industry experience, now retired and seeking new opportunities. He consults with various organisations, from small businesses to large retailers and government institutions. Bernard is passionate about helping companies optimise their operations through innovative POS technology and enabling seamless customer experiences through effective software solutions.

The short answer is that no one knows. We are on to it; I have discussed it before here and recently had several conversations with people about Australia's new 'right to disconnect' law. It's a hot topic, alright. 

Firstly, I am not a lawyer. This is not legal advice.

Right to disconnect Australia.

The right to disconnect gives employees the legal right to ignore work-related communications outside of their working hours unless it's deemed reasonable to respond. This includes, for example, your communication to them and any customer communication to your employees. It's part of the Fair Work Act amendments and aims to promote better work-life balance. I found a readable explanation by a lawyer here.

When Does It Start?

It's in effect for most businesses now, but organisations with fewer than fifteen (15) employees have until 26 August 2025 to comply. This means most of my clients have a year to digest it.

What Does 'Reasonable' Mean?

Here's the tricky bit - the law doesn't define what's reasonable. It's unclear if it's okay to send and, if so, what you can send; the main focus of the act is that the employee does not need to answer. Now, the courts must interpret this case-by-case until we get clarity.

My first question is, how does an employee know it's reasonable to respond till they read it? So do they have to read it, or is the onus on the employer to make sure it is reasonable before sending it? If so, based on my research and conversations and readings, here are some situations that might be considered reasonable to send:

1. Emergencies (e.g., critical system failures)
2. Pre-agreed on-call arrangements
3. Safety issues
4. Legal or regulatory requirements
5. If you are overseas at a different timezone 

Impact on Retailers Using POS Systems

One concern I've noticed is how this law might affect rostering systems in POS software. Imagine this scenario:

You're working on rosters after hours and must inform an employee not to come in tomorrow. You send an email, but they don't respond. You call, but they don't answer, citing the right to disconnect. The next day, they show up for work unnecessarily.

This situation highlights the need for clear communication protocols and expectations.

I would be careful about working on the rostering system after hours. If this proves to be a problem, we are considering adding a holding facility to stop SMS and emails from being sent to selected people after hours. When we get answers, we can move. If you think we should add any changes, please let me know.

Note that SMS and most popular email services like Gmail can schedule their services; you may want to look into that so your communication goes out during business hours. Even if sending this stuff is okay, you do not want to be the test case to prove it.

After-hours communication policy

You need one. The right to disconnect is here to stay, and despite some talk by other politicians, it isn't very likely that you should go. At best, it might be amended. 

The Australian government passed a new workplace law for the right to disconnect. This means employees can ignore calls, emails, and messages from their employer outside of work hours without fear of punishment. This is a significant change that all retailers need to understand.

How the Right to Disconnect Works

While details remain to be determined, the law means staff can't be penalized for reasonably not responding to calls, emails, etc. during off hours like nights, weekends, and PTO.

What does it reasonably mean? No one knows yet still.  

Key points:

• Employers cannot fine or discipline employees for not responding after hours
• Employees can seek orders from the Fair Work Commission to prevent punishment
• Employers could be fined for breaching these orders

Although I doubt it will help us, most of us are surprised as this proposed law is much less strict for employers than passed in some European countries.

Why This Matters for Retailers

For retailers that operate physical stores with set opening hours, the immediate problem may be that the right to disconnect will have enormous implications for scheduling staff and communicating about shifts.

Retailers will need:

• More carefully plan schedules in advance
• Possibly limit last-minute schedule changes
• Outline exceptions for emergency contacts

Exactly how it would work, of course, remains to be seen as what parliament said, what the courts say, etc; remains to be seen.

What retailers need to know

Hopefully, the retail industry groups can get feedback on what retailers need to know.

• Definitions around what is "reasonable."
• Clarify how far in advance schedule changes will be communicated
• What constitutes an emergency exception?
• What happens when a shift swap occurs?

Rostering With the Right to Disconnect

Our rostering software needs to be amended, but we are unsure exactly how. When the details come up, I can tell you more. If you have any ideas or requirements, please let me know.

With some forethought and policy updates, retailers must know how to comply with the new right-to-disconnect laws.