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The employees who right-to-disconnect laws aim to help might be those least likely to benefit, according to a workplace lawyer who is concerned the entitlement will be exploited.

As employers consider whether they need to update provisions regarding hours of work and reasonable additional hours ahead of right-to-disconnect laws taking effect next month, Dentons Australia partner Paul O'Halloran notes that "the onus appears to be on the employee to determine what is reasonable and unreasonable contact" – and this could be problematic.

"To me, these laws are there to protect people... working hours that are so unsociable that it's affecting their personal life and their health," O'Halloran tells HR Daily.

But there's a risk that some employees – such as those who use the phrase "lazy girl jobs", coined by a Gen Z TikToker, to boast about their lack of productivity – will seek to take advantage of the laws at their employers' expense...