---
title: "Out-of-hours contact and right to disconnect policy (Fair Work Act s 333M)"
url: "https://ailawframework.com/precedents/employment-and-workplace-relations/out-of-hours-contact-and-right-to-disconnect-policy"
type: "precedent"
site: "AI Law Framework"
id: "a14-out-of-hours-contact-and-right-to-disconnect-policy"
area_id: "A14"
kind: "policy"
ai_level: "yellow"
version: 1
task_ids: ["A14-T1-R7"]
law_stated_as_at: "2026-10-18"
---

# Out-of-hours contact and right to disconnect policy (Fair Work Act s 333M)

> A workplace policy on contact outside working hours that respects the employee right to disconnect: when contact is reasonable, role-based expectations, on-call and allowance arrangements, contact required by law, AI…

Canonical page: https://ailawframework.com/precedents/employment-and-workplace-relations/out-of-hours-contact-and-right-to-disconnect-policy  
Law stated as at: 2026-10-18

Site index for agents: https://ailawframework.com/llms.txt

A workplace policy on contact outside working hours that respects the employee right to disconnect: when contact is reasonable, role-based expectations, on-call and allowance arrangements, contact required by law, AI and automated messages, and how disputes are raised.

## Key facts

- Kind: Policy. A policy or procedure for a firm or client.
- Practice area: [Employment & Workplace Relations](https://ailawframework.com/precedents/employment-and-workplace-relations.md)
- Jurisdictions: Australia, Commonwealth
- AI level: Yellow. AI can help in set ways. A lawyer checks specific points before use.
- Law stated as at: 2026-10-18
- Status: Maintained. Checked on 2026-10-18 against the 2 authorities it cites, for Australia and Commonwealth.

## When to use it

Use for a national system employer setting expectations about after-hours calls, emails, messages and system alerts. Check the applicable modern award’s right to disconnect clause and any enterprise agreement term first; a more favourable agreement term continues to apply.

## Used for these tasks

- [Draft an after-hours contact or right-to-disconnect policy against the current rules](https://ailawframework.com/practice/employment-and-workplace-relations/draft-an-after-hours-contact-or-right-to-disconnect-policy-against-the-c.md)

## How AI may be used

AI may adapt the policy to the employer’s roles, rosters and award clauses and map which roles have on-call arrangements, but the lawyer checks it against s 333M, the applicable award and any agreement before it is issued.

**AI may:**

- Fill the role-based contact table from the employer’s position descriptions, rosters and on-call arrangements
- Extract the right to disconnect and on-call clauses from the applicable awards and agreements for the lawyer to compare
- Draft plain-language manager guidance and examples from the approved policy

**AI must not:**

- Must not state that employees must respond outside working hours except where the contact is required by law or the refusal would be unreasonable under s 333M
- Must not schedule automated or AI-generated messages to employees outside working hours in a way that implies a response is expected
- Must not decide whether a particular refusal is unreasonable

**The lawyer checks:**

- The policy reflects the s 333M(3) factors and does not override the right to refuse unless the refusal is unreasonable
- Each applicable award’s right to disconnect clause and any more favourable enterprise agreement term is reflected
- Compensation for availability (allowances, on-call pay, salary set-off arrangements) is accurately described for each role
- The policy says plainly that employees will not suffer adverse action for exercising the right

## Authorities

- [Fair Work Act 2009 (Cth) s 333M (employee may refuse to monitor, read or respond to out-of-hours contact unless the refusal is unreasonable; factors; workplace right; contact required by law; more favourable agreement terms)](https://classic.austlii.edu.au/au/legis/cth/consol_act/fwa2009114/s333m.html)
- [Fair Work Ombudsman, Right to disconnect (commencement 26 August 2024 for non-small business employers and 26 August 2025 for small business employers; award clauses; disputes to the Fair Work Commission; protections)](https://www.fairwork.gov.au/employment-conditions/hours-of-work-breaks-and-rosters/right-to-disconnect)

## Full text and drafting notes

The full text and the drafting notes are not part of this public page. Signed-in firm accounts can read them at https://ailawframework.com/precedents/employment-and-workplace-relations/out-of-hours-contact-and-right-to-disconnect-policy and through the signed-in MCP connector https://ailawframework.com/mcp/firm.

*Practice guidance for planning and review. Confirm current primary sources and the requirements of the actual matter. This is general information, not legal advice.*