Australian employees now have the right to ignore work emails, calls after hours

Australian employees can now ignore those and other intrusions into home life thanks to a new "right to disconnect" law designed to curb the creep of work emails and calls into personal lives.

According to Report, which cites Reuters, the new rule, which came into force on Monday, means employees, in most cases, cannot be punished for refusing to read or respond to contacts from their employers outside work hours.

Supporters say the law gives workers the confidence to stand up against the steady invasion of their personal lives by work emails, texts and calls, a trend that has accelerated since the COVID-19 pandemic scrambled the division between home and work.