Tony Burke signals employers could face fines for contacting staff after hours

Employers could face fines for contacting staff after hours and asking them to do work, Workplace Relations Minister Tony Burke has suggested.

Workplace Relations Minister Tony Burke. Picture: NCA NewsWire/Martin Ollman

Employers could face fines for contacting staff after hours and asking them to do work, Workplace Relations Minister Tony Burke has suggested, ahead of a debate over Labor’s industrial relations laws that seek to change the definition of employment and give more rights to ­casuals.

Business groups say the changes will lead to fewer jobs and that the “right to disconnect” clause could be devastating for bosses, particularly those operating in vastly different time zones such as Western Australia.

Business Council of Australia chief executive Bran Black said the right to disconnect had emerged out of France in 2017, but since then there had been a pandemic that had fundamentally changed the way people lived and worked.

“It’s also important to remember that continental France is on a single time zone, and so doesn’t have to contend with the challenges WA would,” he said.

Business Council of Australia chief executive Bran Black. Picture: NCA NewsWire/Martin Ollman

“Imagine if employees in Sydney or Melbourne were banned from emailing an employee in Perth until midday to align with WA time, or if a Perth manager would be breaching the law in providing an update to his or her east coast colleagues after 2pm.”

Mr Burke met with the BCA and other business groups on Friday to hear their concerns over the legislation, but said he had not made any “fresh commitments” on the bill as a result. “There are things that we’re looking into and getting some departmental advice on. It was a really constructive meeting,” he told Sky News.

“I’m glad business is back at the table … it doesn’t mean they’ll end up preferring the legislation to go through but it does mean we could avoid adverse consequences they might be pointing to.”

The Council of Small Business Organisations Australia said the complexity of the proposed definitions of casual and independent contractors could “threaten multiple industries already facing significant labour shortages”.

“The proposals outlined in the Fair Work Legislation Amendment (Closing Loopholes No. 2) Bill 2023, if passed, will create significant confusion for small businesses, exacerbate the cost of compliance and doing business and have flow-on impacts on the costs of goods and services,” ­COSBOA said in its budget submission. “This will then ultimately impact all Australian consumers.”

In a bid to secure the Greens vote for the bill, Labor has sought to include a right to disconnect clause in the legislation.

“I’m interested in the concept … because there are some workplaces, and the employers would acknowledge this as well … where, effectively, people are working a whole lot of hours unpaid because they’re expected to be permanently on call,” Mr Burke said.

“The question is … is it reasonable for them to be expected to be regularly working outside of work hours without pay? And if it’s not reasonable, then what on earth can they easily do about it to be able to get it to stop?”

Mr Burke said under the current proposal, a worker would be able to obtain a “stop order” against their employer if they were expected to do unpaid work.

“If a stop order was breached, the employer would be completely on notice … only then would there be a situation of fines,” he said.

ACT independent senator David Pocock and Tasmanian senator Jacqui Lambie have both voiced concerns with the bill. The Australian understands Mr Burke will meet both of them this week.