Labour’s Plan to Make Work Pay 2024: The Right to Switch Off
A new government can bring with it a number of changes, and this is particularly true when considering employment law. Already a number of changes are expected for employment law, particularly following the King’s Speech on 17 July 2024 and Labour’s Plan to Make Work Pay (Labour’s Plan).
Labour’s Plan includes various proposed reforms, such as:
- The right to switch off (covered in more detail below)
- Reviewing how the national minimum wage is calculated, taking into account the cost of living, and increasing the national minimum wage for those aged 18 to 20 years.
- The ability to claim unfair dismissal from day one, subject to probationary periods.
- Extending the limitation to bring an employment claim from three months to six months.
- An end to ‘exploitive’ zero-hour contracts.
- Reforming the current three-tier employment status system to a single status of worker which differentiates between workers and the self-employed.
- Making flexible working the default from day one “except where it is not reasonably feasible”.
- Requiring employers to take reasonable steps to prevent sexual harassment.
- Reforming fire and rehire practices.
The Right to Switch Off
The focus of this article is Labour’s Plan to introduce the right to switch off.
The Covid-19 pandemic saw a huge shift in flexible, remote and home working practices which provides workers with the opportunity to work around family life. However, the Labour Plan notes that “it has also inadvertently blurred the lines between work and home life.” and confirms that “Labour will also act to promote a positive work-life balance for all workers”.
The Labour Plan states that the ‘right to switch off’ will follow similar “models to those that are already in place in Ireland or Belgium”.
Ireland’s Working Practices
In April 2021, Ireland introduced a right to maintain clear boundaries between work and leisure time. This included not working routinely outside of normal working hours, the right not to be penalised for refusing work outside normal working hours and a duty to respect another’s right to disconnect, or right to switch off.
Belgium’s’ Working Practices
Belgium has recently introduced two rights. The first, in 2022, was the right that civil servants cannot be contacted outside of normal working hours without exceptional circumstances, and that they should not be disadvantaged for not answering work calls or emails outside of their normal working hours. In April 2023, the obligation for private sector employers to have a written document on the right to disconnect, also known as a right to switch off, came into force.
How would the Right to Switch off work in the UK?
It is currently unknown how the right to switch off will be implemented, however, there is a suggestion that the policy would come in the form of the ACAS Code of Practice.
This would be similar to the ACAS Code of Practice on disciplinary and grievance procedures which can see claimants receive a 25% uplift to compensation in the event that their employer unreasonably failed to follow the code.
How can employers prepare?
Despite the uncertainty as to how the right to switch off will be implemented, it is advisable for employers to consider introducing a right-to-disconnect policy now.
It is also advisable that employers conduct a review of existing policies, such as any flexible working or time off policies to ensure that they are up to date and fit for purpose in light of the proposed changes.
Employers may also want to provide training on the benefits of switching off from work and the need for colleagues to respect one another’s right to switch off.
If you are an employer and would like further support and guidance in this area, please feel free to contact me directly by emailing Kayleigh.arthurs@GAsolicitors.com or by calling 01752 203500.
You can read another employment law article about supporting neurodiversity in the workplace here.
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