Since coming into power, the Labour government reiterated its commitment to introducing a “right to disconnect” for workers.
Since the coronavirus pandemic, remote work has become normalised across many industries. Although some organisations have recently tried to bring workers back to the office, many remote workers remain, and it is much more accepted after the pandemic. For remote workers, the blurred lines between work and home life mean it can be hard to switch off, leading to higher rates of burnout.
The Government has therefore pledged to introduce the right to disconnect for employees, to enhance economic productivity. However, the details about this aren’t currently clear, although there is speculation that this right will be a code of practice.
Should this be introduced as a code of practice, employers would need to amend their internal policies to include a right-to-disconnect policy. If this right is not followed, tribunals will consider the non-compliance as a factor in their decisions, rather than treating it as a separate cause of action. Instead of employees being able to bring a claim for not having the right to switch off, a breach of any such code of conduct could lead to an uplift in compensation when bringing other connected tribunal claims.
Other countries including Ireland and Belgium have already introduced this right. The Government will likely be looking at Ireland and Belgium as examples of how this could be implemented. Before any such code is finalised, there will likely be a period of consultation to understand how this can impact various businesses.
Due to the nature of various businesses, employers may need to contact staff in case of emergencies, so these businesses should ensure they can do so without violating their employees’ right to disconnect.
Although the Government was due to outline the specifics in its Employment Rights Bill, we should soon learn more about the specifics of the right to disconnect and how it will be implemented in practice.
