THE RIGHT TO SWITCH OFF: WHAT IT MEANS FOR WORKERS AND EMPLOYERS
The Promise to Disconnect
The Labour Party has promised to introduce a "right to switch off" for UK workers due to growing concerns about work-life balance. But what exactly does this mean?
In essence, it's about giving employees the power to disconnect from work outside of their regular hours without fear of repercussions.
“Until we see the raft of new employment legislation it is difficult to predict exact requirements, but as ever, prevention is better than the cure and understanding your own culture and practice now will help to manage any new requirements.”
This isn’t a completely new idea. Several countries have given employees some form of the “right to disconnect.” These include:
Ireland: Ireland introduced a Code of Practice in 2021. While it's not legally binding, it can be used as evidence if an employee needs to make a claim about their employment rights.
Belgium: Belgium took it a step further in 2022-2023, requiring employers to have written agreements about the right to disconnect.
France: All employees have the right to disconnect and companies with 50 employees or more must negotiate an agreement on this.
What Might This Look Like in the UK?
The expectation is that any new requirements will likely be more of a gentle nudge than a cliff edge change. Employers will likely be required to sit down with their staff and discuss the introduction of “disconnection policies”.
It is unlikely we will see a repeat of the high value tribunal claims from France with the expectation we will see a similar approach to Ireland – a non-binding Code of Practice without specific penalties for breaking the rules.
Breaching an out-of-hours work policy at the moment is unlikely to lead to legal action on its own but employees might use it to strengthen a broader workplace complaint, boosting their chances of winning and increasing their potential compensation
What can Employers Do?
Until we see the raft of new employment legislation it is difficult to predict exact requirements, but as ever, prevention is better than the cure and understanding your own culture and practice now will help to manage any new requirements. Getting ready now might include:
Conducting a culture audit to assess workplace habits
Considering introducing a “lighter touch” right to disconnect policy
Implementing wider measures to improve work-life balance, such as email footers with working hours, scheduling emails within working hours
Implementing software to intercept and block / delay emails from reaching staff