• Australia gave millions of workers the legal ‘right to disconnect’, allowing them to ignore unreasonable out-of-hours calls, emails and texts from their bosses.

• People can now refuse to monitor, read, or respond to their employers’ attempts to contact them outside work hours — unless that refusal is deemed “unreasonable”.

• Unions welcomed the legislation, saying it gave workers a way to reclaim some work-life balance.

• They say the law gives workers the confidence to stand up against the steady invasion of their personal lives by work emails, texts and calls, a trend that has accelerated since the COVID-19 pandemic scrambled the division between home and work.

• The law is similar to those of some European and Latin American countries.

What is the ‘right to disconnect’?

• The European Union (EU) defines the right to disconnect as “a worker’s right to be able to disengage from work and refrain from engaging in work-related electronic communications, such as emails or other messages, during non-work hours”.

The Right to Disconnect has three main elements:

i) The right of an employee to not routinely perform work outside normal working hours.

ii) The right to not be penalised for refusing to attend to work matters outside of normal working hours.

iii) The duty to respect another person’s right to disconnect (e.g, by not routinely emailing or calling outside normal working hours)

How other countries experimented with ‘right to disconnect’ laws?

• The ‘right to disconnect’ first gained major attention in France, where a law was enacted in 2016-2017 requiring companies with over 50 employees to set specific hours during which staff should not send or respond to emails. 

• This law was groundbreaking as it formally recognised the negative effects of constant digital connectivity on employees’ health and personal lives.

• Italy, Spain, and the Philippines have taken steps towards adopting the right to disconnect, implementing policies that support employees’ ability to disengage from work during non-work hours.

• Kenya was the first African country to consider such a move. Its proposed Employee (Amendment) Bill seeks to prevent employers from expecting employees to answer calls, text messages or emails outside working hours, at weekends or on public holidays.  

• Belgium passed a law in February 2022 allowing civil servants to switch off work emails, texts and phone calls received out of hours, without fear of reprisals. The legislation protects the country’s 65,000 public-sector employees from exposure to being permanently on-call, although out-of-hours contact is permissible in exceptional circumstances.

• Portugal labels its work-life balance legislation the “right to rest”, with companies of 10 or more staff facing fines for contacting staff outside of set working hours. Workers with children below the age of eight are also permitted to work remotely under the new laws, which came into effect in November 2021.

‘Right to Disconnect’ Bill in Lok Sabha

• In India, Baramati MP Supriya Sule introduced a Private Member Bill in Lok Sabha known as the ‘Right to Disconnect’ twice — in 2018 and 2022. 

• The objective of this Bill was to empower every employee to have the right to disconnect from all work-related communication after their set work-hours. which was never taken up for discussion in the House.

• The Bill stated that every employee must have the right to disconnect, when contacted for work related purposes after work hours. If contacted, the employee is not obliged to reply or shall have the right to refuse to answer such calls or any other form of communication. The Bill also instructed every registered company and society to constitute Employees’ Welfare Committees consisting of its employees to assist or represent the employees for negotiation of terms and conditions of out-of-work hours with employers.

Arguments in favour of ‘right to disconnect’ law

• Evolution of Employee Recognition: The right to disconnect acknowledges that work has changed significantly with modern technology. Smartphones and cloud computing  have made it easier for managers to contact workers any time, making it harder to separate work from personal life.

• Future of Flexibility at Work: This right value the flexibility that technology provides, letting employees work in ways that fit their personal schedules and commitments, enhancing job satisfaction.

• Prioritising Mental Health and Well-Being: It recognises the risks to mental health from overwork and the stress of always being available. Protecting employees from constant connectivity helps maintain their mental well-being.

• Preventing Employee Burnout: By setting boundaries for work-related communications, this right helps prevent burnout, ensuring employees have time to recharge, which is essential for long-term productivity.

• Importance of Work-Life Balance: It is crucial in promoting a healthy balance between work and personal life, allowing employees to rest and enjoy personal time without work interruptions.

• Respecting Personal Time: The right to disconnect respects employees’ personal time, ensuring they can fully disengage from work during their off hours and focus on their private lives.

Challenges for implementing such a law

• Practicality Concerns: In industries requiring flexibility or having peak work periods outside traditional hours (e.g., tech, healthcare), implementing this policy can be challenging.

• Enforcement and Monitoring: There are questions about how to enforce these policies effectively without infringing on personal freedoms or creating unintended negative outcomes, such as a heavier workload during official hours.

• Cultural Shift: Implementing such policies requires a significant cultural change, especially in places where long hours are the norm.

• Industry-Specific Needs: Some industries, like emergency services, require 24x7 availability. A uniform policy may not fit all sectors, making it difficult to apply universally.

• Compliance and Enforcement: Monitoring compliance, particularly in remote work environments or multinational companies, is challenging.

• Impact on Business Operations: Critics argue that strict regulations could hinder business efficiency, affecting overall productivity and economic growth.

• Legal Complexities: Implementing and enforcing such laws across different regions and industries can be legally complex, presenting significant challenges.

• Possibility for Side-lining: Employees advocating for the right to disconnect might face challenges such as being passed over for promotions or excluded from important tasks.

• Alternatives Proposed: Some suggest focusing on flexibility and giving workers more autonomy over their availability instead of imposing strict rules.

(The author is a trainer for Civil Services aspirants.)