The Right to Disconnect at Work – Is it A Legal Matter?
A European Parliament majority has voted for a law that grants workers the right to digitally disconnect from work without facing negative repercussions. MEPs are...
Read Full ArticleThe government is proposing to consult on the “right to switch off” for employees.
This would give employees the right to digitally disconnect from work without facing negative repercussions.
According to Labour’s “Plan to Make Work Pay” document, new ways of working as a consequence of the pandemic have encouraged presenteeism and “blurred the lines between work and home life”. This appears to be the case in the UK, with an Institute for Public Policy Research (IPPR) paper showing that UK workers are among the least likely to take sick days, but most likely to work through illness.
The government wants to help businesses foster a culture of healthier working practices, balancing the need to switch off with an employer’s right to contact an employee in certain circumstances, and honouring the preference for working outside conventional work patterns. This complements the Employment Relations (Flexible Working) Act, which passed into law in July 2023, giving employees the right to request flexible working from day one of a new job.
The Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development (CIPD) says the government’s proposed “right to switch off” should be developed in consultation with employers and allow for some flexibility around when organisations can contact staff in unforeseen circumstances
Ben Willmott, Head of Public Policy at the CIPD said: “It’s important that any new 'right to switch off’ is introduced with sufficient flexibility to enable employers to contact employees outside normal working hours where unforeseen circumstances require this, for example due to sickness absence.
“It seems most likely the government will introduce this new right through a code of practice, which should allow employers to develop approaches which work for both them and their staff. There will be different demands for this type of flexibility depending on the sector and the nature of people's jobs, which would need to be recognised in the code of practice.
“Developed in the right way, in consultation with employers, such a code can help promote what is already adopted as good practice in many organisations and support workers' work-life balance and wellbeing.
“Employers will need to ensure they have clear policies which are aligned to any new code, clarifying the circumstances where managers can and cannot contact staff outside their usual working hours.”
Picture: a photograph of a person sitting at a desk, leaning forward with their head resting on their arms, as if in exasperation. Image Credit: Unsplash
Article written by Ella Tansley | Published 22 August 2024
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