Teachers to win "right to disconnect"

Queensland teachers could soon be encouraged to "switch off" their phones after hours.

Queensland teachers could soon be encouraged to "switch off" their phones after hours.

Queensland teachers will have the “right to disconnect” and ignore work calls and emails outside of school hours under a new pay deal set to be approved.

There are also calls for the clause to be extended nationally as teachers across Australia deal with increased workloads.

The new three-year enterprise agreement, which was out for ballot on Tuesday, will lift the wages of top state school teachers' to $153,000 per year by 2024, The Australian reported.

A "digital detox" clause, pushed for by the Queensland Teachers' Union, would allow teachers to switch off their phones and computers to incoming messages from parents and principals after school.

“Employees are encouraged to disconnect from digital technologies and communications when accessing rest time, weekends, and leave/vacation periods, except in exceptional circumstances,” the enterprise agreement reads.

"The Department is committed to minimising digital communications with employees to ensure an appropriate work/life balance is met, whilst accommodating operational needs."

The QTU has argued teachers are spending hours working “unseen and unpaid” at home.

Queensland's "detox" clause has also been recommended for national rollout and was included in a Draft National Teacher Workforce Action Plan released by federal Education Minister Jason Clare in October, as a way to improve retention and free them up to focus on teaching.

The legal "right to disconnect" has gained traction over the last few years, particularly after forced working from home for some during the pandemic blurred the lines between work and home life.

In 2017, France made the “right to disconnect” a legal right for all workers, protecting them if they ignored emails and calls after work. Italy soon followed suit for remote workers.

A number of Australian unions including the Finance Sector Union have recently called for switch-off hours to be written into workplace agreements. 

Australian Council of Trade Unions secretary Sally McManus has previously said the right to disconnect was "necessary not only for workers’ mental wellbeing but to also make sure that workers with caring responsibilities – who are mostly women – don’t fall unfairly behind their colleagues in terms of pay, advancement, and promotion".