Have you ever received an email or phone call from your boss at home while you’re sitting down to watch your favourite TV show? If you’re in Australia, you can now ignore that after-hours communication. As of Monday, a “right to disconnect” policy for employees came into force that doesn’t outright prohibit employers from contacting employees after work. Instead, it simply states that employees are not required to respond and cannot be penalised if they don’t, “unless their refusal is deemed unreasonable,” according to the BBC.

Although employees and employers should try to resolve any conflicts in this regard themselves, if they are unable to do so, they must refer the matter to the Australian Fair Work Commission. Employees who do not comply with the FWC’s decision can be fined up to $13,000, while employers face a penalty of almost $64,000. More than 20 countries, mainly in Europe and Latin America, have similar regulations. With Australian workers on average working more than 280 hours of unpaid overtime per year, experts say the new regulation will “empower workers” and help employers in the long run.

“Today is a historic day for working people,” says Michele O’Neil, president of the Australian Federation of Trade Unions, according to Deutsche Welle. “Australian unions have reclaimed the right to finish work after work.” Others are not on board. “The laws came literally and figuratively out of the blue, introduced with minimal consultation about their practical implications and leaving employers little time to prepare,” says the Australian Industry Group, which represents employers, according to Reuters. A worker in the finance industry, meanwhile, shrugs off the idea, although he approves of the concept. “I doubt it will take hold in our industry,” he tells the news agency, according to the BBC. “We are well paid, we are expected to deliver and we feel like we have to deliver 24 hours a day.” (More stories from Australia.)