The Right to Disconnect

The UK Government is seeking to introduce the right to "switch off", which will allow workers to disconnect from work and not be contacted by their employer outside working hours.

The Labour Party has indicated that it intends to follow the models in Ireland and Belgium but details of the proposed legislation remain unclear.

Under UK legislation, there are specific rules setting out minimum rest periods and maximum weekly working hours to protect workers' health and safety, but workers can opt out of the right to work a maximum 48-hour week and work longer hours.

However, UK working time legislation was not designed to cope with the recent boom in remote and hybrid working, which can lead to workers failing to disconnect from work at the end of the day or tempt them into checking their emails while on holiday. This is problematic for employers and employees alike because a lack of clear boundaries between work and home life can negatively impact business productivity, harm staff wellbeing and disrupt family life.

The Government has pledged to give employers and workers the chance to "have constructive conversations" and "work together on bespoke workplace policies or contractual terms". At this stage, however, it has offered very little detail on their plans, although it has said that it is planning to follow the Irish and Belgian models.

In Ireland, there is a code of practice on the right to disconnect, whereas in Belgium, legislation has been brought in. At this stage, it is unclear what path the UK Government will take but reports suggest that it is likely that there will be a code of practice agreed upon by employers and employees.

In Ireland and Belgium, employers need to establish a written policy or include information in the collective bargaining agreement or work rules.

It looks likely that UK employers will need to work with employees to create workplace policies about the right to disconnect.

Whatever approach is taken, employers should be thinking about the best strategies they can put in place to prioritise work-life balance. These might include carrying out assessments to detect any unhealthy practices and employees who are showing signs of struggling with long hours; establishing core working hours across the board; or setting clear expectations about when employees should respond to emails or calls outside core working hours.