The Right to Disconnect
In an ever-changing world, fast-paced and filled with technological progress, it is often difficult to keep up with new developments and ensure that the welfare of the worker remains protected.
The Right to Disconnect is just one example of this. Who would have thought two years ago that we would find ourselves in a global pandemic where most are asked to not only work from home but also stay at home? Never in most people’s wildest dreams would they have accounted for this possibility.
Well unfortunately the reality is that we’re here, and for a while now most people been getting used to working from home, getting used to late emails, phone calls and texts. What we may forget at times is that we as workers shouldn’t be forced into or expected to be answering calls while cooking the dinner or sending an email as we put the kids to bed.
There should absolutely be a line drawn between the time to work and the time for leisure. The continual blurring of this line risks imposing burnout, stress and other negative mental health side effects on workers who feel like they can’t say no to doing just that extra bit of work late at night.
A survey in April 2020 showed that roughly 40.9% of those in employment aged 16 and over in Northern Ireland were working from home in some way. The Right to Disconnect hasn’t just become a problem as a result of the pandemic but it has found its way into the mainstream as a result of it. Now is the time to act on this issue, ensuring that all workers have the legitimate right to an authentic work-life balance.
It is important to note that this blog post isn’t an attack piece on working from home which is exactly the style of working which suits some workers best, and can make work more accessible for others, it is rather a criticism on the continual blurring of the lines between work life and home life which also affects those who permanently work from home.
The Republic of Ireland has led the way in developing a code of practice through which workers are grants the Right to Disconnect. The code of practice does not create a situation through which an employer breaking the code is committing a legal offence but allows employees to refer to the breaking of the Right to Disconnect in proceedings before the Labour Court or Workplace Relations Commission. The three main clauses of the code being;
The right of an employee to not have to routinely perform work outside their normal working hours.
The right not to be penalised for refusing to attend to work matters outside of normal working hours.
The duty to respect another person’s right to disconnect (for example, by not routinely emailing or calling outside normal working hours).
Currently in Northern Ireland, there is no legal right to disconnect from work enshrined in law, which leaves us lagging behind our neighbours. This must change. We already know the other ways workers are being exploited, for example, through zero-hour contracts and other means of precarious employment, and so to ignore the championing of the Right to Disconnect is to ignore this exploitation taking place in the home.
Realistically, in a rapidly changing world, the level of our commitment to the Welfare of Workers must stay the same. We have to remain steadfast in our defence of the rights of the everyday worker because at the end of the day, we all deserve both Bread and Roses.
Karl W. Duncan
30/08/21