A worker's right to ‘switch off' outside their normal working hours could soon be introduced in the UK.
This is part of the government's Plan to Make Work Pay.
The plan provides workers with a right to disconnect from work outside of working hours and not to be contacted by their employer. There would be no expectation on workers to answer calls or emails outside working hours or work extra hours at weekends.
The government believes that the plan will help boost productivity for businesses by allowing people time to rest.
Employers repeatedly in breach of the ‘switch off' rule could face uplifted compensation claims from workers who have been contacted outside of working hours. It is understood that any new right is likely to be enforced through a code of practice, similar to the position in Ireland and Belgium.
It is not anticipated that the code will create a freestanding Employment Tribunal claim, however, it could result in workers being able to claim an uplift of up to 25% in compensation when bringing certain claims. It is not yet known which claims any uplift may apply to.
Early suggestions are that ‘right to switch off' right will be specific to individual workplaces. That said, some UK employers will find it a challenge to find the right balance between productivity and wellbeing of staff.
This will put some emphasis on employer and workers/unions agreeing contact hours, as is currently the position in Belgium. This will help smaller businesses who may be disadvantaged by a strict application of the new rule. This would include agreeing standards for average working hours with staff. Employers are advised to put in place a carefully worded workplace policy which is in the spirit of the new code.
Combined with the effect of new day 1 rights, some commentators are speculating that the new rule could potentially result in an upsurge in tribunal claims.
This has not been the experience for employers in Ireland. Ireland welcomed the ‘right to disconnect' code in April 2021 and there is no suggestion that it has directly resulted in an increase in claims.
Our view is that the code will have a similar effect to the ACAS Code of Practice on Disciplinary and Grievances procedures. In most cases, Tribunal judges will consider an uplift to any compensatory award for those employers who have unreasonably failed to comply with the code.
Further details of the right to ‘switch off' will be published in the coming months.
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