“The ‘right to disconnect’ laws are a joke!” says man who retired back when an employers’ only way of contacting staff was by ringing their home landline

DIGITAL DIVIDE: A Sydney man who’s been retired for three decades is criticising Australia’s new ‘right to disconnect’ laws, saying they are “utterly unnecessary.”

“The younger generation is so soft,” Frank Ballinger told DBT.

“If their boss calls them once after hours they’re treated like criminals.”

The 71 year old last clocked in for a day’s work in 1992, when nobody worked past 5pm, fax machines were considered cutting-edge.

“If you don’t want to hear from your boss, just turn your phone off and go do something useful like sweep your driveway,” he says.

Meanwhile Frank Ballinger’s younger family members point out that he’s notorious for not even texting back within the same week, let alone responding to a work crisis at odd hours.

“He’s so disconnected,” says his son. “For him the ‘right to disconnect,’ is not a right, it’s just a given.”

But Frank is waving off those comments with a dismissive hand.

“You kids and your bloody smartphones, you’re all too connected, that’s your problem!”