The Labour government have reiterated their commitment to introducing the right for workers to ‘disconnect’, as part of their plans to promote a positive work-life balance and to ensure homes do not turn into 24/7 offices, which is a particular concern after the increase in home working since to the pandemic.
Labour first stated these plans for the right to switch off in their Green Paper ‘A New Deal for Working People’ in 2021.
The aim is to, for example, allow workers to not be contacted by their employer outside normal working hours, including during annual leave, and to allow them to not to take on extra work at weekends.
However, it remains to be seen how the right will be implemented in law and whether it will be part of the Draft Employment Rights Bill, due to be presented to Parliament by 12 October 2024.
In their ‘Plan to Make Work Pay: Delivering a New Deal for Working People’ document, published in May this year, Labour stated that they will “follow similar models to those that are already in place in Ireland and Belgium, giving workers and their employers the right to have constructive conversations and to work together on bespoke workplace policies or contractual terms that benefit both parties”. This gives us some clues as to how the right to disconnect may be implemented in law.
In Ireland, the Code of Practice on the right to disconnect came into force in April 2021 and gives workers a right to not work routinely outside of normal working hours, a right to not to be penalised for refusing to work outside normal working hours and a duty to respect another’s right to disconnect (by not routinely emailing or calling outside normal hours). The right applies to all types of employers and the Code of Practice recommends that employers develop a Right to Disconnect Policy. The Code is not legally binding, and there are no specific sanctions for breaches, but breaches can be used in evidence against employers in employment law claims.
In Belgium, the right to disconnect was introduced through legislation for the civil service in 2022 and in 2023 for the private sector. It gives civil servants a right to not be contacted outside of normal working hours (unless there are exceptional circumstances) and the right to not suffer any detriment for not answering calls or emails outside of these hours. Private sector employers employing 20 or more employees must have a collective bargaining agreement (CBA) or work rules on the right to disconnect. Although the right does not apply to all employers, it is legally binding, and a breach of a CBA may result in sanctions for an employer.
Therefore, despite the dramatic news headlines, the right to disconnect will not be an absolute one and it is unlikely that it will radically change working culture in the UK. Although specific sanctions may not be introduced, breaches may well result in compensatory uplifts in certain employment law claims. However the right is implemented, it is likely that employers will need to engage with their workers on developing a relevant policy or CBA. Whilst employers may want to consider introducing such policies now, to sit alongside flexible working policies, it may be prudent to wait until the Draft Employment Rights Bill is presented.