UK workers’ ‘right to disconnect’

The ‘right to disconnect’ refers to a worker’s right to be able to disengage from work and leave work-related electronic communications, such as emails or other messages, alone during non-work hours.

While issues around working time, workers’ right to rest periods and privacy in the workplace are covered in the main body of UK employment legislation, there is no legal framework directly defining and regulating the right to switch off that specifically protects against the pressures for employees to be constantly accessible. Therefore, a legislative development of this nature, which would help protect the physical and mental health of workers while defining clearer boundaries between work and private life, needs to be considered within the remit of occupational safety and health law and practice.

The Labour government’s commitment to give workers a new right to disconnect from work outside of working hours and to not be contacted by their employer outside of working hours could follow other countries in Europe (France, Belgium, Spain, Portugal and Ireland), Canada (Ontario and Quebec), and more recently, Australia. In all these cases, regulations and managerial restrictions have already been introduced to limit employers’ ability to contact workers outside work hours. Back in 2017, France was the first country to legislate on this matter, while sectoral agreements and multinational corporations have already introduced these policies from 2012. Nearly 10 years later, it seems the UK is falling behind this drive to attain a better work-life balance, based on better quality, more predictable work.

Uncertainties

However, there remain too many uncertainties preventing this initiative from taking off. Should the onus be put on regulators or on employers? Does the right to disconnect apply to remote, office-based or mobile workers? What does it mean for teachers, healthcare professionals and civil servants? What impact will it have on customer-oriented organisations that need to cater for client needs? Will the requirements be the same for smaller companies? Will this initiative cover managerial staff? Also, what does this right to disconnect mean for other countries with a different approach to workforce management, like China, Japan, India or the USA?

Still to be defined is the format this policy development could take. In countries like Belgium, the law requires that employers adhere to a general framework for the right to disconnect. A similar soft law approach can be seen in Ireland, through its establishment of a code of practice for employers and employees. The purpose of the code is to provide practical guidance and best practice for employers, employees and their representatives on the right to disconnect. In the UK, there are already examples of codes of practice on disciplinary and grievance matters, including dismissal and re-engagement.

Proactive

Sustaining a culture that steps back from requiring workers to be ‘always-on’, that avoids out-of-hours contact, will not happen overnight. Organisations need to be more proactive in understanding the root causes. This means reviewing existing culture, evaluating staffing levels, looking at workload, long working hours and pressure imposed by managers. Attention needs to be given to formal and informal ways of communicating, what’s on offer in terms of flexible working arrangements, whether the business operates in global time zones and so on.

It's also important to recognise there’s no "one size fits all" policy framework that could work for all sectors or apply to all workers, irrespective of their employment status. Some professions, such as healthcare workers and security forces, might have to continue with this ‘always on’ state to avoid disruptions to the service they provide.
Organisations don’t need to wait for this development to happen. They should start engaging in meaningful conversations with employees on ways in which the right to disconnect can be exercised in a responsible and pragmatic manner. As a basic strategy, adopting a specific and clear policy (together with grievance procedures) of informing workers of their rights seems the right approach. This needs to be backed up with training and education initiatives to raise awareness of the negative impacts of constant connectivity, overtime work and poor time management.

IOSH favours legal provision that grants employees the right to disconnect from work-related communications outside their day-to-day job. But this initiative needs to look holistically at flexible, worker-centric working models to provide greater independence and flexibility for employees in terms of when, where and how they work. Putting this right central to an organisation’s culture, strategy and operations will also need buy-in from employers, greater education of employees and a gradual shift in how work is, or can be, organised and managed.