Glossary · UK
What is Right to Disconnect?
A proposed workplace right allowing employees to switch off from work communications outside contracted hours without facing detriment, expected to be introduced via a statutory code of practice.
Full Definition
The right to disconnect refers to a worker's ability to switch off from work-related calls, emails and messages outside their contracted working hours without fear of penalty or detriment. The UK government has signalled its intention to introduce this as a statutory Code of Practice, developed with ACAS, rather than as a new standalone legal right enforced directly through the courts -- a lighter-touch approach compared with countries such as France and Ireland, which have implemented more formal legislative rights to disconnect. Under the expected model, an employment tribunal would be able to take an employer's compliance (or non-compliance) with the code into account when deciding related claims, such as constructive dismissal or claims linked to excessive working hours, rather than the code creating a freestanding right to bring a claim purely for being contacted out of hours. In the meantime, some employers have already adopted voluntary policies -- such as email curfews, "right to switch off" clauses in staff handbooks, or default settings that delay message delivery outside working hours -- partly in response to the existing Working Time Regulations 1998 obligations on rest breaks and maximum weekly working hours, and partly to manage staff wellbeing and retention.