Following the pandemic, the lines between work and home life have become increasingly blurred. And there have been increased calls by employees and managers to introduce a right to switch off due to higher levels of employee burnout and a lack of work-life balance.
The idea of a right to switch off was first floated in Labour’s 2021 Green Paper and clarified in their pre-election ‘Plan to Make Work Pay’. It is an employment policy that they strongly believe in because they do not want people’s home to become 24/7 offices. The Government also believe that the right to switch off when outside work is key to productivity and will boost the UK’s economic growth.
Code of practice
It is likely that this right will be introduced by means of a code of practice, rather than new legislation. When implemented, employers will be restricted from contacting workers by phone or email outside working hours, including holidays. Ignoring the code could result in penalties and/or having to attend a tribunal.
The Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development (CIPD) has pointed out that the introduction of a code of practice should allow employers to develop approaches which work for both them and their staff. After all many employees value the flexibility of managing their own working hours around other responsibilities and might be keen to retain that flexibility.
The CIPD have called for some consultation with employers to ensure that it supports workers’ work life balance and wellbeing. They also stress that the code should include some flexibility. Not only because of the diversity of people’s jobs and the varying needs of different employment sectors, but because what happens if an employer needs to contact employees outside normal working hours where unforeseen circumstances require this, for example due to sickness absence.
One size will not fit all!
The code will probably not be a one size fits all and there is talk that it might only apply to employers with a certain number of employees. Although what that number is, is yet to be confirmed. For employers it will be all about using a collaborative approach to find the right balance between productivity and the need to agree clear boundaries and support wellbeing. It is hoped that the guidance from the code will be fairly broad to fully incorporate the needs of different industries to balance protecting work-life balance with business continuity and efficacy.
Regardless of what’s actually included in the code, employers should start planning and preparing for it now. This might take the form of:
- Staying informed. Keeping abreast of legislative developments and consulting regularly with legal of HR professionals to ensure compliance with new laws as they come into force.
- Engagement with employees to understand employee’s working hours and whether this matches with the expectations for their job and level of seniority?”
- Undertaking an audit of your workplace culture, including presenteeism, and coming up with a definition of values and expectations around these issues.
- Reviewing employment contract, handbooks and workplace policies including flexible working and home/hybrid working to ensure they align with the anticipated changes. Employers need to be aware that terms may need to be renegotiated and perhaps some company practices might need to be updated, so allow sufficient time for this to happen.
- Introduction of a right to disconnect policy which clearly clarifies the circumstances where managers can and cannot contact staff outside their office hours.
It’s also worth pointing out that in recent years many organisations have already adopted good practices to support their workers’ work-life balance and wellbeing, so it will be essential going forwards that these form part of any new policy.
How I can help
For advice and support when it comes to updating your right to switch off/disconnect processes, procedures and policies, please email caroline.robertson@actifhr.co.uk