The government returns after the summer recess to make big changes to UK employment law. As the new Labour government beds in, fresh regulation around employment and further protection for workers are first on the slate.
The ‘right to disconnect’ refers to the right not to engage in work-related activities outside of contracted hours. The government plans to make this a right for UK employees, following some EU states which have already enshrined the right to disconnect in their own domestic legislation.
With no current right to disconnect in the UK, Labour’s proposed changes represent a significant shift in our employment law. The government’s plan suggests creating a Code of Practice (similar to the ACAS disciplinary and grievance procedures codes) with an assumption that the code will place a responsibility on an employer to agree with its workforce when they can be contacted outside their contractual hours.
If an employer fails to follow the agreement there could be an ‘uplift’ in a remedial award given by employment tribunals. While it seems unlikely a code will allow for new claims relating solely to breaches of a right to disconnect, these claims could lend weight to claims like constructive dismissal, increasing the penalty payable by an employer who is found to be in breach.
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