Co-funded by the European Union

EU parliament Resolution on the right to disconnect

  • The Resolution contains specific recommendations on the scope and content of a Directive
  • The right to disconnect is defined as “the right for workers to switch off their digital tools including means of communication for work purposes outside their working time without facing consequences for not replying to e-mails, phone calls or text messages”.

On 21 January 2021, the European Parliament approved a resolution on the right to disconnect with some recommendations to the European Commission on the text of a Directive.

At the European Union level, the European Commission is in charge of the legislative initiative. Any legislative initiative, even if proposed by the Council or the Parliament, must then be analysed and prepared by the European Commission and it is again submitted to the Council and the Parliament for approval to become a directive, regulation or decision. A directive is not directly applicable and must be transposed into national law. 

The Resolution considers the right to disconnect as:

  • a fundamental right which is an inseparable part of the new working patterns in the new digital era”; and
  • an important social policy instrument at Union level to ensure protection of the rights of all workers”.

Moreover, “it acknowledges that the right to disconnect is not explicitly regulated in Union law; recalls that the situation in the Member States varies widely, with a number of Member States and the social partners having taken steps to regulate in law, collective agreements or both, the use of digital tools for work purposes in order to provide safeguards and protection to workers and their families; calls on the Commission and Member States and encourages the social partners to exchange best practices and to ensure a coordinated common approach to the existing working conditions without being detrimental to social rights and mobility within the Union; Calls on the Commission to evaluate and address the risks of not protecting the right to disconnect; Calls on Member States and employers to ensure that workers are informed of and able to exercise their right to disconnect”.

The Explanatory Statement annexed to this Resolution describes the “impact information and communication technologies (ICT) have on the world of work in many sectors and occupations, making it possible for work to be taken anywhere and carried out anywhere and at any time and for workers to be reachable outside their working hours. As a result, many new challenges have evolved beyond the existing Union legal framework”. It refers to the “greater working time autonomy and flexibility in work organisation”, effective for business continuity in times of Covid-19 but also to “new ways of extending working hours and diluting the boundaries between working and free time”. According to the text of the explanatory Statement, the negative effects of such diluted boundaries can be counteracted by ensuring a minimum level of statutory protection.

With regards to the scope of application, the requested Directive should apply to “all workers who use digital tools, including ICT, in the course of their work, including atypical workers, and to all sectors of activity, both public and private”.

In concrete terms, the right to disconnect means “the right for workers to switch off their digital tools including means of communication for work purposes outside their working time without facing consequences for not replying to e-mails, phone calls or text messages”. The working time is defined by national laws and is in line with working time provisions in collective agreements and contractual arrangements.

This would imply an obligation on the employers to ensure the workers’ right to disconnect and to properly inform the employee on the applicable regulations and collective agreement.