The right to disconnect employment law will capture small businesses with 14 employees and under from today.

Under the new rules, staff can’t be punished for reasonably ignoring after hours calls, text messages or emails from the boss.

Workers with a reasonable additional hours clause already in their employment contract may not be able to invoke the new protections.

If an employee believes their rights have been compromised, they should initially address the issue with their employer. If this internal dialogue fails to resolve the issue, they may escalate it to the Fair Work Commission.

Employers found to be in violation of the new laws can be fined up to $18,000.

Since the law was implemented for larger companies last year, recent research indicates that over half of all employers have been contacted by employees asserting their right to disconnect.

Small to medium businesses were found to have received 11 per cent more concerns from staff than large businesses.