The Emerging Right to Disconnect: How Countries Are Protecting Workers from After-Hours Communication
Many people keep their phones permanently on silent—not just during meetings or at night, but as a fixed, unchanging setting they never turn off. At first glance, this might seem like a simple personality trait or a preference for calm over constant interruption. However, this habit reflects a broader social and legal movement: the right to disconnect. This right protects employees from being contacted outside of working hours, allowing them to truly unplug from work. Although most people practicing this have never heard the phrase, several countries have quietly enshrined it into law.
France started it
France led the way by introducing the droit à la déconnexion (right to disconnect) through its 2016 Loi Travail, which took effect in 2017. The law requires companies with 50 or more employees to negotiate specific rules governing when staff can be contacted outside working hours. These rules must then be documented in a written charter. Importantly, the law does not ban after-hours contact outright, nor does it grant employees an immediate personal veto. Instead, it mandates that employers formally define boundaries through negotiation with employee representatives, rather than relying on unspoken norms that reward constant availability.
Despite this landmark legislation, implementation has been gradual. By 2021, about 60 percent of French employees working from home reported having no formal right to disconnect in practice, even though the law was in place on paper. This gap highlights the challenges of translating legal frameworks into real workplace culture changes.
The rest of Europe followed, unevenly
Following France’s lead, several European countries have adopted their own versions of the right to disconnect, but the approaches vary widely. Italy and Spain implemented laws within a few years, while Portugal incorporated the right into its Labour Code in 2021, imposing fines on companies with ten or more employees that contact staff outside agreed hours. Belgium expanded its legislation in October 2022, providing approximately 65,000 civil servants with formal protection against after-hours contact. Cyprus joined the list most recently in November 2023, enforcing fines up to €10,000 for employers who do not comply.
By 2026, more than fifteen European countries have some legal recognition of the right to disconnect. However, these laws differ in strength and scope—some are hard statutory rights enforceable by law, whereas others function as codes of practice with less binding power.
A different model: Australia’s direct legal right
Outside Europe, Australia has taken a notably distinct approach. Its reforms between 2024 and 2025 grant employees a direct legal right to refuse unreasonable after-hours contact. Unlike the European model, which requires employers to negotiate policies, the Australian system empowers workers individually to challenge intrusive communication through workplace tribunals. These tribunals assess disputes by weighing factors such as urgency, employee seniority, and compensation for being on call. This adversarial framework offers employees a mechanism to enforce their rights case by case, rather than relying solely on negotiated company policies.
Why there still isn’t one EU-wide law
The European Parliament took a significant step in January 2021 by passing a resolution calling for a unified EU-wide directive on the right to disconnect. Such a directive would harmonize the patchwork of national laws into a single standard. Yet, progress has stalled. A binding agreement negotiated between European trade unions and employer representatives over fifteen months in 2022 nearly succeeded, but employers ultimately blocked unanimous approval.
The European Commission is reportedly preparing a new framework directive on digital working conditions, expected before the end of 2026. However, even optimistic timelines suggest implementation may not occur before 2027 or 2028. Until then, workers’ legal protections against after-hours contact largely depend on their country of employment.
Does the right to disconnect actually make a difference?
The practical impact of these laws has been studied by Eurofound in a 2023 report surveying employees and HR managers across Belgium, France, Italy, and Spain. The findings are encouraging: over 70 percent of workers in companies with a right to disconnect policy rated its impact as very or somewhat positive. Notably, employees at companies with such policies reported lower rates of stress or anxiety in the past year—28 percent compared to 38 percent at companies without policies. High job satisfaction was about twice as common where a right to disconnect policy existed.
However, the report cautions that a policy on paper does not guarantee change. Without awareness campaigns, training, and active monitoring of out-of-hours contact, the right remains largely theoretical rather than transformative.
What this means for individuals and workplaces
Someone who keeps their phone permanently on silent in a country lacking statutory protection is essentially creating their own informal boundary around availability—the very principle that countries like France and Belgium have begun to formalize through law. While this personal habit differs from a negotiated, enforceable legal right, it reflects a shared desire among workers to reclaim control over their time and attention.
The growing recognition of the right to disconnect underscores an important shift in how societies view work-life balance. As remote and digital work blur the lines between office hours and personal time, legal frameworks are catching up to protect workers from constant connectivity. For those in countries without such protections, personal boundaries remain a crucial, if unofficial, tool to maintain mental health and well-being.
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