AI, always-on work and the right to disconnect

AI assistants, chat tools and automated alerts make it easy to keep work moving at any hour. A system can send a task at 10pm, a dashboard can flag a problem on Sunday, and a manager with an AI drafting tool can send more messages in less time. None of that changes the basic rules on working time and rest, but it does make them easier to break without anyone deciding to. This page explains those rules and what a legal right to disconnect looks like where one exists.

The short answer: in the EU, workers are entitled to 11 consecutive hours of daily rest, a weekly rest period and an average of no more than 48 hours a week including overtime, and the EU Court of Justice has said employers must have a system that measures daily working time. Australia's Fair Work Act gives employees a right to refuse to monitor, read or respond to work contact outside working hours unless the refusal is unreasonable. Rules elsewhere differ.

Why AI makes this a live issue

EU-OSHA, the EU's workplace safety agency, lists blurring work and private life among the risks of AI-based worker management, and says intrusive systems based on intensive monitoring can lead to collecting private and sensitive data and blurring the lines between work and private life (EU-OSHA, AI for worker management, 2022). It links these risks to outcomes such as fatigue, stress, anxiety and burnout. Automated scheduling and task allocation can also push work into evenings and rest days; see AI in scheduling and shift allocation.

EU working time rules

The Working Time Directive sets minimum standards across the EU (Directive 2003/88/EC):

• Working time means any period during which the worker is working, at the employer's disposal and carrying out their activity or duties, in accordance with national law or practice; a rest period is any period that is not working time (Article 2).
• Daily rest: a minimum of 11 consecutive hours in every 24-hour period (Article 3).
• Breaks: a rest break where the working day is longer than six hours, with the details set by collective agreement or national law (Article 4).
• Weekly rest: a minimum uninterrupted 24 hours plus the 11 hours of daily rest in each seven-day period (Article 5).
• Maximum week: average working time, including overtime, of no more than 48 hours per seven-day period (Article 6).

In Case C-55/18 (CCOO v Deutsche Bank, 14 May 2019), the Court of Justice held that Member States must require employers to set up a system enabling the duration of time worked each day by each worker to be measured, because without one it is not possible to determine objectively and reliably the hours and overtime worked (Court of Justice of the EU, press release 61/19). Many countries apply these rules through their own laws, so check the national rules where you work.

What this means in practice: answering messages or handling AI-generated tasks during rest periods may count as working time under national rules, and frequent out-of-hours contact can cut into the 11 hours of daily rest.

Australia: a statutory right to disconnect

Section 333M of Australia's Fair Work Act 2009 says an employee may refuse to monitor, read or respond to contact, or attempted contact, from their employer outside working hours unless the refusal is unreasonable, and the same applies to work-related contact from third parties (Fair Work Act 2009 (Cth), section 333M). In deciding whether a refusal is unreasonable, the following must be taken into account:

• the reason for the contact;
• how the contact is made and how much disruption it causes;
• how far the employee is compensated for being available or for working extra hours, including non-monetary compensation;
• the nature of the role and the employee's level of responsibility;
• the employee's personal circumstances, including family or caring responsibilities.

The right is a workplace right under the Act's general protections, which prohibit adverse action because of it. A refusal is unreasonable if the contact is required by law, and a more favourable right to disconnect term in an enterprise agreement continues to apply. Disputes can go to the Fair Work Commission, which can make orders to stop an employer taking action against an employee, or to stop an employee unreasonably refusing contact (sections 333N and 333P).

The right started on 26 August 2024, when Part 8 of Schedule 1 to the Fair Work Legislation Amendment (Closing Loopholes No. 2) Act 2024 commenced (commencement table, Act No. 2 of 2024). For employers that were small business employers on that day, meaning fewer than 15 employees (section 23), it did not apply for the first 12 months, so it reached them on 26 August 2025 (Fair Work Act, Schedule 1, clause 111D).

Practical steps

• Employers: set out when people are expected to respond, and when they are not. Configure AI tools and automated alerts to respect working hours, hold non-urgent messages until the next working day, and make sure on-call duties are explicit and paid or compensated as the law and agreements require. Check that monitoring tools do not record or score activity outside working time.
• Managers: drafting with AI is fast; scheduling the send for working hours costs nothing.
• Workers: know your contract and local rules, keep a record if out-of-hours work is regular, and raise it with your manager, union or representative.

See also AI monitoring at work and AI and workplace safety. This page is general information, not legal advice.