Last October, a private member’s bill introduced in the Kerala legislative assembly rekindled the debate on the right to disconnect: employees’ right to ignore work-related emails, calls, or other electronic communications beyond working hours.
The bill aims to realise employees’ right to rest, which is inscribed as a human right under Article 24 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. It defines the right to disconnect as the right of an employee to not receive work-related notifications and to refuse any work notified after the specified working hours unless there is an agreement to the contrary. No punitive action can be taken against an employee who refuses such work. However, the right under the Bill is provided only for ‘employees’, possibly excluding gig workers and professionals such as doctors or lawyers, who are typically labelled as independent contractors. Further, the Bill also provides for the establishment of a Private Sector Employment Grievance Redressal Committee in every district with the powers,inter alia, to inspect private institutions and seek reports on compliance, analyse the need for extending work beyond working hours, and provide guidelines to maintain work-life balance. If the Committee reports non-compliance by an employer, the State Labour Commissioner can only suggest to the state government any action to be taken against the errant employer. The
state government is not obliged to take action against such employers, nor is there any specific penalty provided in the case of violation.
All work
The tragic death of a 26-year-old EY employee due to overwork and the call for a 70-hour work week by N.R. Narayana Murthy had caused an uproar, but only momentarily. Hyper-availability continues to be the marker of a dedicated employee. Cut-throat competition in the labour market leads to employees agreeing to boiler-plate employment contracts with no limit on daily workload. Moreover, the idea of disconnection appears illusory for workers in the informal sector, which comprises more than 90% of India’s workforce, and for gig workers — ride-hailing drivers, food delivery agents and so on — who are expected to be connected to the relevant platform and are subject to algorithmic penalty for refusing to perform on-demand services. Pertinently, the right to disconnect is often projected as undermining India’s aspirations of becoming a developed economy. Even the Economic Survey called for relaxing restrictions on daily working hours to promote ease of doing business and increase worker productivity. This despite the fact that increased work hours do not necessarily translate to increased productivity. Four-day work week trials conducted in Iceland had found that a reduction in working hours not only reduced employees’ stress but also improved productivity.
The right to disconnect may be customised to make it more palatable for businesses. Company-specific charters delineating the right of disconnection, as suggested by the 2018 Bill, is worth considering.
However, a lot depends on the implementation of this right through robust enforcement mechanisms. Regular surveys of workplaces along with mandatory reporting are non-negotiable. Civil proceedings by the aggrieved employees can be permitted in addition to the imposition of statutory penalties for non-compliance with the right to disconnect. Moreover, the right to disconnect requires not just legal enforcement but also cultural transformation in the workplace. Employers must be sensitised about the rightsizing of the workforce, evolving efficient working processes, and the allocation of work in proportion to working hours. Additionally, the use
of technological measures, such as automatic deletion/prevention of delivery of
work emails during specified hours, can help.