Context: Recently, Australia has announced “Right to Disconnect”; it allows employees to refuse to monitor, read, or respond to work-related communications outside of their scheduled working hours. Parliamentarian Shashi Tharoor has remarked that “inhumanity at the workplace must be legislated out of existence.” It is to be noted that India does not have specific laws recognising the right to disconnect from work.
Relevance of the Topic: Mains: Conceptual understanding of ‘Right to Disconnect’.
Issues and concerns regarding ‘Right to Disconnect’
- A recent report by The Hindu reported that Indians in professional jobs, like auditing, Information Technology, and media, work more than 55 hours a week.
- According to a study by ADP Research Institute, 49% of Indian workers said workplace stress negatively impacts their mental health.
- It has been observed that employees physically leave the office, but they do not leave their work. They remain attached by a kind of electronic leash.
Constitutional and Legal Provisions in India:
- Article 38 of the Constitution mandates that “the State shall strive to promote the welfare of the people”.
- Article 39(e) of the Directive Principles of State Policy directs the state to direct its policy towards securing the strength and health of its workers.
- Article 43 directs that the conditions of work must ensure a decent standard of life and full enjoyment of leisure and cultural opportunities.
- Vishakha v State of Rajasthan (1997): The Supreme Court ruled that sexual harassment at the workplace violates fundamental rights, recognised the right to dignity at the workplace, and issued guidelines to ensure that there is a safe working environment for women and gender equality.
- Praveen Pradhan v. State of Uttaranchal (2012): High Court of Uttarakhand held that “under the pretext of administrative control and discipline, a superior officer cannot be left to enjoy extreme liberty to make the intense humiliation and scolding inhumanly in front of all the subordinate staff members for a little lapse.”
- Ravindra Kumar Dhariwal v. Union of India (2021): The Court read Article 14 to include ideas of inclusive equality to reasonably accommodate persons with disabilities, an employer must consider an employee’s individual differences and capabilities.
International Examples:
- France: The Labour Chamber of the French Supreme Court ruled in 2001 that an employee is under no obligation to work from home or take home files and working tools.
- Portugal: Portugal has a Right to Disconnect law, which makes it illegal for employers to contact employees outside working hours, except in emergencies.
- Spain: Public workers and employees have the right to switch off devices in order to guarantee that, outside of legal or conventionally established working hours, their time off, leave and holidays are respected, in addition to their personal and family privacy, with the aim of promoting a good work-life balance”.
- Australia: Australian Parliament passed the Fair Work Legislation Amendment, which gave employees the right to disconnect from work outside of working hours.
- Ireland: Ireland has also recognised the right to disconnect for employees.
Suggestions and Way Forward:
- Research by Harvard Business Review shows that working prolonged hours causes stress, coronary heart diseases, and impacts overall health. There is a widespread belief that overworked human beings bring in productivity, however research by the University of Oxford found a conclusive link between happiness (ensured by work life balance) and productivity.
- Thus, a more nuanced approach, recognising the importance of hard work, ambition, and sustained productivity, while also ensuring a healthy and motivated workforce is needed.
- Employers can promote vacations, flexible working hours, promoting mental health and counselling, managerial restraint to respect personal time.
- In 2018, MP Supriya Sule introduced a Private Member Bill in the Lok Sabha, delineating the right to disconnect from work after working hours. The bill included the provision of a penalty of 1% of the total remuneration of all employees to be paid by companies for noncompliance with its provisions; this bill can be brought back as a government bill to deal with this issue.