Australia is the latest country to grant its employees the “right to deregister” from work – a measure that has so far been implemented mainly in European countries.

Under new legislation that came into force on Monday, companies will not be allowed to penalize employees for not answering the phone or responding to emails outside of working hours.

This means that while employers and third-party customers can still contact their employees outside of paid working hours, employees now have the right to refuse to answer these questions – unless doing so is “unreasonable”.

What is considered unreasonable is assessed by the Australian Fair Work Commission, taking into account factors such as the nature of the employee’s role and responsibilities, the nature of the contact and how disruptive it was to the employee.

“The new laws will provide workers with greater protection in terms of their working conditions, job security and their ability to balance work and life, while ending the underpayment and undercutting of the wages and conditions of Australian workers,” said Employment and Industrial Relations Minister Murray Watt.

Here are some other countries that have introduced the right to time off from work.

In 2017, France introduced the “right to switch off” work emails outside of working hours. Companies with 50 or more employees must negotiate with employee representatives to decide when workers can be contacted via electronic communication means. Failure to comply with these rules can result in fines of up to 1% of the employee’s total remuneration.

France is considered to be one of the most heavily regulated labor markets in the developed world, mainly due to the legally mandated 35-hour work week.

In Portugal, employers are prohibited from contacting their employees after working hours. The law provides for the so-called “right to rest”.

Employees are also entitled to at least eleven hours of uninterrupted “night’s rest”, during which they must not be disturbed unless there is an emergency.

To promote a good work-life balance, employees in Spain have the right to log off from work-related digital communication channels outside of established working hours.

A nationwide campaign by the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health aims to raise awareness of the initiative and underscore employers’ commitment to enabling a healthier digital workplace.

Ireland has adopted a code of practice on the right to disconnect outside working hours. The code grants employees the right not to attend to work-related matters outside normal working hours and requires employers to respect their employees’ right to disconnect by not contacting them outside working hours.

The Code applies to all forms of employment, from remote work to work at a fixed location.

In Italy, legislation is specific to teleworking, requiring that any teleworking arrangement must provide for established rest periods and outline the measures necessary to allow the worker to completely disconnect from work-related devices.

The UK also appears to be on track to take similar initiatives, with professionals’ union Prospect finding that almost 60 percent of workers supported the right to switch off during a campaign last September.

Although there is currently no official right to time off work in the UK, it is stipulated that a working week must not exceed an average of 48 hours over a period of 17 weeks.