s333M: s 333M Respect the employee right to disconnect outside working hours
An employee may refuse to monitor, read or respond to contact or attempted contact from the employer, or from a third party about their work, outside working hours unless the refusal is unreasonable, weighing the reason for the contact, how it is made and how disruptive it is, the compensation (including non-monetary) for remaining available or working additional hours, the role and responsibility, and personal circumstances including caring responsibilities; a refusal is unreasonable where the contact is required by law. The right is a workplace right protected by Part 3-1, a more favourable agreement term continues to apply, and modern awards include a right to disconnect term (s 149F). The Division has applied to small business employers since 26 August 2025.
Our statement of the clause of Australia Fair Work Act 2009 (Cth), held and verified: cite it as s333M. The instrument verbatim is not quoted here; the held framework carries the reading.
The evidence this duty asks you to hold
After-hours contact policy defining when contact is expected and how availability is compensated; On-call rosters and availability allowances; Records showing no adverse action against employees who did not respond after hours
What usually goes missing
Expectation of immediate after-hours responses without compensation; Performance criticism for not answering after hours; No distinction between urgent and routine contact
Where this lands in an audit
In Equal Pay Auditor this control informs the same-work screen, the category figures and the remediation steps, which carry their article citations on the result.