“Shark Tank” star Kevin O’Leary Not a fan of Australia’s new “Right to disconnect” Law.
The law, which went into effect on August 26, allows most workers to ignore their bosses’ after-hours calls and texts without fear of retaliation.
Similar laws have been passed in countries like France and Belgium.
“What if your office has an event and it’s closed?” O’Leary said during one interview on Fox News’ “Outnumbered” talk show last week.
“Or you have an emergency somewhere, and you have to catch them at two in the morning because it affects the work they’re doing and their mandate in the organization?” he added.
In Australia, employees can now ignore their bosses after hours. Let me ask you this… What happens during a crisis? This kind of policy is nonsense. If you can’t reach the job when it depends on it, you’re out. Who dreams up these ridiculous ideas? If someone tells me… pic.twitter.com/s0BOGFrSfV
— Kevin O’Leary aka Mr. Wonderful (@kevinolearytv) August 28, 2024
O’Leary added that it didn’t make sense for him to allow workers to ignore such late-night communications.
“This kind of stuff drives me crazy. It’s so dumb. It’s just — my question is who dreams these absurd dreams. And why would anyone propose such a stupid idea? He said on the show.
When asked what he would do if any of his staff chose to go into “silent mode,” O’Leary said he would not hesitate to let them go.
“Yes, there is another moment, I fire them,” he said.
To be sure, most Australian employees would probably still have to answer their boss’s call under the scenarios presented by O’Leary.
Australia’s Minister for Employment and Workplace Relations Murray Watt said in an interview with Australia’s ABC News, “If it was an emergency situation, of course people would expect an employee to respond to something like this.”
A person who is not paid 24 hours a day should not be penalized if he is not available and online 24 hours a day. Labor disconnection laws come into effect today, protecting you from being penalized for not being available outside of work hours. pic.twitter.com/kFLTdGRUoO
– Senator Murray Watt (@MurrayWatt) August 25, 2024
The law, Watt said, would instead apply to many frivolous requests.
“But if it’s a run-of-the-mill thing, and let’s face it, we all get emails and phone calls from our bosses about things that really can wait until the next work day, then they’ve got the next one. Should wait until work. day.”
O’Leary’s representatives did not immediately respond to Business Insider’s request for comment sent outside regular business hours.
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