UNI GLOBAL UNION PROFESSIONALS & MANAGERS
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LEGISLATING A RIGHT TO DISCONNECT
7, Article L2242-17 of the labor code stated
the following: “The annual negotiations
on equal opportunities between women
and men and the quality of working life
cover … The terms enabling employees
to fully exercise their right to disconnect
and the introduction by the company
of schemes regulating the use of digital
tools, with a view to ensuring compliance
with regulations governing rest and leave
periods, privacy and family life.”
It further noted that if the social
partners cannot reach an agreement,
“an employer may draw up a charter,
following consultations with the Works
Council or, if such does not exist, with
sta representatives. Such charter shall
define the terms for exercising the right
to disconnect while also providing for the
implementation of training and awareness-
raising measures relating to the reasonable
use of digital tools. Such measures
shall target employees, supervisors and
management.”
SPAIN
Following the adoption of the French law,
the Spanish government in 2017 began
studying the possibility of securing a right
to disconnect in Spanish law as well. On 6
December 2018, the government adopted
the new Data Protection Act, which
transposed the 2016 European Union
(EU) General Data Protection Regulation
(GDPR) into Spanish law but which also
introduced a new set of digital rights for
both citizens and employees.
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Article 88
thus stipulates that workers in both the
private and public sectors shall have a
right to disconnect in order to ensure
respect for their periods of rest, leave, and
holidays, as well as for their personal and
family privacy.
The law does specify, however, that the
enjoyment of the right to disconnect
must take into account the nature of the
employment relationship in question,
and that the right may be flexible or even
inapplicable if the employment relationship
does not allow it.
Like the French law, the Data Protection
Act prescribes a central role for the social
partners in negotiating the details of
the right to disconnect. If there are no
unions present, it shall instead be agreed
between the company and the worker
representatives. The employer shall then
prepare an internal policy for all sta,
including sta in managerial positions,
outlining the proper exercise of the right
to disconnect and ensuring that sta
receive training on the reasonable use
of technology to avoid the risks of digital
fatigue. The law specifically notes that
workers who work remotely or from their
homes either occasionally or regularly
shall also enjoy the right to disconnect.
ITALY
A debate about the right to disconnect
also ensued in Italy in 2016 following the
French example. Two bills were introduced
in the Italian Senate to regulate this right,
with Bill No 2229 explicitly proposing
that workers have the right to disconnect
from technological devices and from
online platforms without suering any
consequences with regard to their labor
relationship or compensation. On 14 June
2017, the right to disconnect was eventually
codified into law when Law No. 81/2017 on
“Smart Working” was enacted to update
the country’s outdated legislation on
teleworking and to promote and provide
a framework for new forms of remote
working and facilitate workers’ work-life
balance.
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“Smart work” is in Italy defined as work
with no precise constraints in terms of
working hours or place of work. Work
can thus be done partly from home or
Workers in both the private and
public sectors shall have a right
to disconnect in order to ensure
respect for their periods of rest,
leave, and holidays, as well as for
their personal and family privacy.