Right to disconnect

Jeff Bezos, the founder of Amazon has often questioned the concept of 'work-life balance'. At an event in 2018, he said that the idea of work-life balance is "debilitating" because it suggests a compromise between the two. He prefers to talk about 'work-life harmony', describing the relationship as a circle rather than a balance. Rather than seeing work as an intrusion into personal life or vice versa, Bezos sees the two as complementary.

Like him, many employers believe that there is not necessarily a clear dividing line between work and personal life. For them, employees don't have to disconnect from their work outside office hours, because their life and work can be harmoniously aligned.

However, most employees take a different view. Indeed, outside working hours, many do not want to be constantly solicited by calls or emails and prefer to establish a clear boundary between their professional and private lives.

This divergence highlights the importance of managing the boundaries between work and personal life, an area that Luxembourg has recently addressed through a new law.

QUESTIONS:

Do employees have the right to disconnect outside working hours? What are the new obligations for employers in terms of the right to disconnect?

LEGAL BASIS:

LAW OF 28 JUNE 2023: This amends the Labour Code to introduce a system relating to the right to disconnect. It has been in force since 4 July 2023, but penalties for non-compliance will only apply from 1 July 2026.

IN THEORY:

The right to disconnect can be defined as a fundamental right granted to workers who use digital tools for professional purposes. This right allows them to refrain from engaging in work-related tasks outside their normal working hours, including during periods of leave or time off.

In practical terms, this means that employees have the right not to be solicited by their employer or superior outside working hours, whether by telephone calls, emails or other forms of digital communication.

The purpose of the right to disconnect is to protect the well-being of workers by allowing them to have sufficient rest and recuperation time, and to preserve their personal and family life.

Under article L.312-9 of the Law of 28 June 2023, employers whose employees use digital tools for professional purposes are obliged to put in place a system that establishes respect for the right to disconnect.

IN PRACTICE:

Following the new Law of 28 June 2023, employees who use professional digital tools now have the right not to be solicited outside their normal working hours. This law aims to ensure a better work-life balance.

Let's look at the steps employers must take to apply this new law and guarantee their employees their right to disconnect.

First of all, employers must work with their employees to define practical and technical arrangements to enable them to disconnect outside working hours. This may include out-of-hours email management policies, notification settings on mobile devices, or even the use of notification blocking software during rest periods.

Next, it is essential to organise awareness-raising and training sessions on the right to disconnect. Employees must be informed of their rights and responsibilities in terms of disconnection, as well as the risks associated with digital work overload. These sessions can be run internally by human resources or in collaboration with external experts.

In the event of an exceptional derogation from the right to disconnect, the employer must offer compensation. For example, if an employee is contacted outside working hours for a work-related emergency, they must subsequently receive fair compensation, either in the form of additional time off or additional pay.

These practical arrangements are normally defined by a collective labour agreement or by a subordinate agreement.

If there is no collective agreement or subordinate agreement, a specific scheme must be defined at company level. In this case it varies according to the size of the company. In small companies with fewer than 15 employees, the employer may define the scheme after informing the employees concerned. In companies with fewer than 150 employees, the employer must inform and consult the staff delegation. Finally, for companies with more than 150 employees, the employer must negotiate an agreement with the staff delegation.

SANCTIONS FOR NON-CONFORMITY:

From 1 July 2026, employers who have not introduced practical and technical arrangements to enable their employees to respect the right to disconnect will be liable to administrative fines. These fines, set by the Director of the Labour and Mines Inspectorate, may vary from €251 to €25,000.

CONCLUSION:

In conclusion, the introduction of the Act of 28 June 2023 represents a major step forward in the protection of employees' rights.

This law finally responds to the need of most employees to establish a healthier balance between their professional and personal lives.

Employers are now obliged to put in place concrete measures to guarantee the right to disconnect by July 2026 in order to avoid being subject to sanctions.

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