We are always on the lookout, and to support new talent. Maddie Prole, working in our Client Services looks at European legalisation likely to impact UK businesses around the rights of employees to disconnect from work, when not at work.
In the new governments, Plan to Make Work Pay manifesto document, they set out numerous plans related to employment and workers’ rights and stated that they intended to introduce legislation within 100 days of entering government, i.e., 12th October 2024. However, new legislation does require consultation and Royal Assent before it can be enacted, and the time frames can vary. Nonetheless, such changes may be implemented in the coming months.
At Advo, we wish to let businesses know about any proposed changes that may affect them and their employees so that they are prepared in advance.
With burnout figures remaining stubbornly high, there have been calls for the UK to introduce a right to disconnect and one of the new governments proposals which has been widely published and been given media attention in recent weeks is the Right to Switch Off. This refers to an employee’s right to switch off from work outside of normal working hours.
The new Government’s proposal has also taken into account the fact that more employees work from home, thus not closing the office door at 5pm and advanced technology which allows for constant connectivity. Furthermore, they are acknowledging the importance of mental health in the workplace and wish to take a proactive approach to employee well-being,
It has also looked to other European countries where the Right to Disconnect is deemed through specific legislation. For example, France’s El Khomri Law mandates that companies develop charters to protect employees from being contacted outside of their working hours and in Portugal, the “right to rest” means that companies with more than 10 staff are prohibited from contacting employees outside of their contracted hours, other than in exceptional situations. Ireland also introduced a new Code of Practice in 2021 aimed at creating a culture of good work-life balance.
Currently, the UK has the Working Time Regulations 1998, which establish a level of protection on this issue through the limitation of the average working week to 48 hours as well as ensuring employees are given the minimum rest period. However, this regulation does not legally obligate employers to prohibit after-hours communication and leaves employees without explicit protection regarding their availability outside of work hours.
At this stage, the extent of any proposals, i.e. whether it will be a legislative change or Code of Practice is unclear, but it is likely that some change will be implemented. Regardless of any prescriptive guidelines of any future right to switch off, employers have always had a duty of care towards their employees and for many employers, employee wellbeing remains high on the agenda which has been proven to promote productivity and job satisfaction.
Businesses may therefore wish to take proactive steps to care for their employees wellbeing and proactively prepare for any changes and we suggest some steps that business may wish to consider implementing now.
Employers may wish to consider time recording in order that they can assess how frequently and to what extent employees are working outside of their core hours.
Employers may wish to consider a culture audit to assess workplace culture and whether there are any toxic working habits in particular teams or departments.
Employers may wish to consider other measures to better improve an employee’s ability to switch off. Small steps could include letting customers know that queries will be only answered during core hours, encouraging email footers to set out an employee’s working days/hours, encouraging employees to schedule emails to be sent within working hours only and voicemails on mobile phones to also describe core hours.
Although there is no current requirement to do so, employers may wish to consider right to disconnect policy now. Advo would recommend that this is carefully drafted as there will be numerous caveats and would be able to provide advice, guidance and would draft this policy in partnership with you.
Speak to one of our Advo HR Consultants today to discuss a review of your current policies and other in-house training options.
Article written by Maddie Prole. Advo Client Services