Political staffers deserve to be able to disconnect: union

Federal politicians should reassess their expectations of staff working overtime after new right-to-disconnect laws come into force, a top union secretary says.

As the Albanese government works to implement recommendations from the Jenkins Report for a cultural overhaul of parliament, Community and Public Sector Union national secretary Melissa Donnelly said the new right-to-disconnect laws aligned with the push for federal parliament to be a more inclusive and respectful workplace.

“Parliamentarians should be having conversations with their staff about how this new right applies to them and their positions, because it does,” Donnelly said.

CPSU secretary Melissa Donnelly.Credit: Louie Douvis

“Parliamentarians should be leading from the front on this and using the guidance provided by the Fair Work Act to examine their work practices, reassess their expectations and determine when contact with staff is and isn’t reasonable.”

As a part of staffers’ contracts, an overtime allowance is included; however Donnelly argued this should not be used as a justification to call on staff at all hours of the day.

“Receiving an extra allowance does not mean that your boss can contact you about anything at any time,” she said.

Two former staffers who spoke on the condition of anonymity to avoid retribution said the overtime allowance had been used in their experience to justify being on-call during all hours of the day.

Debate over the availability of staffers was first triggered by independent MP Monique Ryan’s former adviser Sally Rugg, who took her former boss to court for “serious contraventions” of workplace law after working 70-hour weeks.

Rugg told this masthead the new laws should push politicians to make parliament a more flexible workplace.

“Parliamentary and electorate offices should be the gold standard of workplace conditions. The Australian public should have faith that their elected leaders follow workplace law, just as they would with any other law,” Rugg said.

Kooyong MP Monique Ryan and her former chief of staff Sally Rugg faced off over after-hours workloads.Credit: Justin McManus

“The right to disconnect for parliamentary and electoral staff is vital so that they can assist with the political representation of voters and deliver services to their local communities effectively, productively and sustainably.”

Laws allowing workers to disconnect from work came into effect on Monday. The laws allow an employee to ignore a workplace contact after hours if it is reasonable to do so.

Under the enterprise bargaining agreement for members of parliamentary staff, which passed on August 21, there is an expectation for staffers to work additional hours and they are compensated through either a personal staff allowance, travel allowance, electorate staff allowance or time off in lieu.

“For the purpose of assessing whether additional hours of work are reasonable, hours worked by an employee will be averaged over a 12-month period,” the agreement said.

As part of the new enterprise agreement staffers will receive an 11.2 per cent pay increase to base salaries and allowances.

In February, the CPSU submitted a bargaining claim calling for a 20 per cent pay rise over three years and a demand to end unreasonable hours. Donnelly said at the time the culture of working long hours and always being available “hasn’t always led to a safe and healthy workplace”.

Teal MP Allegra Spender said she has been having regular conversations with her own staff about their right to disconnect and expressed concern over what the laws would mean practically.

“I have had real concerns about the practicality and uncertainty of the government’s right to disconnect,” she said.

“Parliament is a high pressure workplace, but so are many in the country. I think it is really important that parliament is held accountable to the same standards as the rest of the country and we will see through this experience how the legislation works in practice.”

Special Minister of State Don Farrell declined to comment.

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