Government Promises to Remove Criminal Penalties for Employers Calling After-Hours

Prime Minister Anthony Albanese has committed to passing new legislation to remove criminal sanctions for breaches of the ‘right to disconnect.’
Government Promises to Remove Criminal Penalties for Employers Calling After-Hours
Labor Prime Minister Anthony Albanese during Question Time in the House of Representatives at Parliament House in Canberra, Australia on Feb. 6, 2024. AAP Image/Mick Tsikas
Rex Widerstrom
Updated:
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The government is scrambling to change its own, newly passed, workplace relations laws after finding they still contained criminal penalties for employers who breached the “right to disconnect” provisions—a new law to restrict employers from contacting employees after work.

The legislation passed the Senate on Thursday evening, but Prime Minister Anthony Albanese is now saying it will be amended in the lower house to remove the sanctions.

Rex Widerstrom
Rex Widerstrom
Author
Rex Widerstrom is a New Zealand-based reporter with over 40 years of experience in media, including radio and print. He is currently a presenter for Hutt Radio.
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