The right to disconnect

“Such technologies have blurred the boundaries between work life and home family life.

Technological advancement has led our economies and industry to change significantly. New communication methods and information technologies mean that the regulatory environment has to change too.

On the one hand, such innovation can be beneficial – particularly given that such digital tools allow workers more flexibility. For instance, physical presence at the work place may no longer be necessary and the employee can work remotely from wherever he or she wants. Obviously, this is significant and very important for people – especially parents, who would want to take care of their children while retaining their professional careers.

On the other hand, such technologies have blurred the boundaries between work life and home family life. In essence, it can lead to a situation where these digital tools start to interfere with workers’ private lives.

In this regard and to guarantee a true work-life balance, on the eve of the fourth industrial revolution that is blurring the lines between the physical, digital and biological spheres, some countries have been updating their regulatory environments to cater for these changes.

Amongst these are some European Union member states.

For instance, France has already passed a law – the El Khomri Law – reforming the working conditions for French people, adapt and adapting labour law to the digital age. In it, the authorities have included in particular, specific provisions on the Right to disconnect. This law has been in force since January 2017 and was basically proposed in the aftermath following a judgement by of by the French Supreme Court that said that if an employee is unreachable after office hours, then that is not a grounds for dismissal and cannot be considered as misconduct.

In a nutshell, the French authorities have set a precedent through this law, which in my opinion is a best practice that others are and should be following. It is one that others, like for example Italy, have already has already enacted a or which are considering similar legislation which requires the employers to provide the employees contractual clarity over their responsibility to communicate outside of work hours, while Spain has also adopted a “Data Protection and Digital Rights Act” in late 2018. There are others such as Belgium, the Netherlands, Luxembourg which have already proposed or are actively considering the introduction of similar provisions. Luxembourg for instance, is amongst the latter category. I also feel that the right of an employee to disconnect and not use professional digital tools (e.g. a work mobile phone or laptop) beyond office hours is critical at this day and age. Further than that, I think that this is not only important to guarantee a good work-life balance in practice but we also need to do more also to protect a workers’ health.

Therefore, I feel believe that this a human right more than anything else and one which should be guaranteed for all. Thus, I think that it is apt that for the Maltese Authorities to start engaging with key stakeholders – such as trade unions and employers, in order to explore how consider similar this right can be smoothly and effectively be incorporated under changes in Maltese Labour Law.

Through such dialogue, there is surely a way in which the right for a worker to disconnect from work and not engage in work-related activities after office hours, such as through emails or messages, must be introduced.

In furtherance, finally, I believe that a forward looking European Union that truly wants to be effective for its citizens, must consider pushing boundaries on such matters.

This is one area where parliamentarians in the European Parliament can exert pressure on the Commission as the body that proposes legislation.

It is also an issue which I would look forward to work on, in for the benefit of Maltese and European citizens alike, if given the opportunity.