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In its "Make Work Pay" manifesto, the Labour government pledged to bring in the "right to switch off" for workers. The government is reportedly considering a Code of Practice on such right, which may operate in a similar way to the Codes of Practice on disciplinary and grievance matters, and fire and rehire, with the potential for uplifts in compensation for specified types of claims where there has been non-compliance. Full details of the proposals are awaited but employers may wish to examine their hybrid and remote working arrangements now in order to ensure that they can react swiftly to future developments.
The right to disconnect already exists in European jurisdictions such as France, Italy, Spain, Belgium and Portugal, and the EU Commission is proposing to introduce harmonising legislation in this area across the EU. From 26 August 2024, employees in Australia will obtain a new right to refuse to respond to contact from their employer outside working hours unless such refusal is unreasonable. These developments point to a trend towards increasing protection of workers' rights in the post pandemic world of hybrid working. Whilst hybrid working has brought many benefits, it can blur the lines between the working and home environment. The government anticipates that the right to disconnect will boost productivity.
Look out for our upcoming Global Compliance vlog series where we will report on the right to disconnect and other trends and developments that multi-national organisations should be considering as part of their compliance journey. The right to disconnect will bring issues of working time compliance (and monitoring) to the fore, as well as reigniting discussions about the merits of greater office-based working.
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