A View From The Exchange:  The Right to Disconnect 

In today's hyper-connected world, the line between work and personal life is often blurred. With constant access to emails on your phone and the flexibility of working from home, it can become increasingly challenging to fully disconnect from 'the office'. To combat this, the Labour Party has announced plans to introduce a 'right to disconnect' and work autonomously into UK law. 

The right to disconnect refers to the ability of employees to disengage from work-related communications and tasks during non-working hours without facing negative consequences such as disciplinary action. 

Several countries have already taken steps to enshrine this right. France implemented legislation in 2017 requiring companies with more than 50 employees to negotiate annually with their employees on working conditions and the right to disconnect. Other countries such as Ireland, Belgium, Italy, and Portugal have adopted similar measures over time, though to varying degrees. For instance, Belgium has taken a softer approach, requiring employers to follow a general framework for the right to disconnect.

Most recently, the Australian Federal Parliament passed legislation introducing a right for all employees to disconnect outside of working hours. While it does not ban employers from contacting staff after work, it allows employees to ignore after-hours calls or messages unless refusal is unreasonable. Non-compliance can result in hefty fines of up to AUD$19,000 for individuals and AUD$94,000 for companies.

The future of the right to disconnect in the UK remains uncertain. Both the UK and EU already have minimum working time standards, with the Working Time Regulations 1998 capping the average workweek at 48 hours. However, many organisations ask their employees to opt out of these regulations. 

The Labour government, as part of its ‘Plan to Make Work Pay’ initiative, is expected to consult on introducing a right to disconnect from work outside of contracted hours. In principle, a right to disconnect would have obvious benefits for workplace culture and employee wellbeing by creating a clear boundary between the office and home. It would, however, present operational challenges, particularly for global financial institutions with businesses and customers across geographies and time-zones. There would also be a heightened risk of exposure to legal and regulatory challenge: for example, from employees who may raise grievances where out-of-hour communications are not deemed "reasonable" or by regulators where firms fail to maintain systems and controls designed to uphold the right to disconnect.  

While the right to disconnect is a promising step towards improved work-life balance for many, its implementation must be carefully managed to address these potential issues and ensure it benefits both employees and employers.

Author: Isabella Jackson-Martin