[3] Several countries, primarily in Europe, have some form of the right to disconnect included in their law, while in some cases it is present in the policy of many large companies.
"[4] In 2004 the Supreme Court affirmed this decision and ruled that "the fact that [the employee] was not reachable on his cell phone outside working hours cannot be considered as misconduct.
Article 55(1) amended Article L. 2242-8 of the Labour Code by adding a paragraph (7);[6] "(7) The procedures for the full exercise by the employee of his right to disconnect and the establishment by the company of mechanisms for regulating the use of digital tools, with a view to ensuring respect for rest periods and leave as well as personal and family life.
The report identified cognitive and emotional overload which can lead to a sense of fatigue as a psycho-social risk of being constantly connected.
[8] The government viewed it necessary to adopt such a law to adapt to the changing nature of the workplace, recognizing that digital technologies have blurred the line between work and private lives.
[10] For companies with more than 50 employees, the right is to be included in their Mandatory Annual Negotiation (MAN) on gender equality and the nature of quality of life at work.
[10] In the absence of this, a "charter of good conduct" is to be negotiated with union representatives detailing the times that employees can disconnect from their digital tools and when they would not be expected to connected to their smartphones or laptops.
[11] The right as it exists in the El Khomri Law does not extend to those independent workers who are part of online crowdworking regimes.
Furthermore, such a charter has no legal value in France, unless it contains terms providing or sanctions against employees which allow it to be considered as an appendix to the internal rules of a company.
Other German companies such as Allianz, Telekom, Bayer and Henkel all have similar policies in place to limit the amount of digital connection employees have after work hours.
[15] In 2013 Germany's employment ministry banned its managers from contacting staff after hours as part of a wider agreement on remote working.
[16] In 2014, automobile company Daimler introduced a software called "Mail on Holiday" that its employees could use to automatically delete incoming emails while they were on vacation.
[17] German employment minister in 2014, Andrea Nahles, sought to introduce "anti-stress legislation" in response to the rising levels of stress and mental health issues in Germany.
Article 19(1) of the Act governs the implementation for an Agreement on Aggregate Work and includes some form of the right to disconnect.
[emphasis added]"L'accordo relativo alla modalità di lavoro agile è stipulato per iscritto ai fini della regolarità amministrativa e della prova, e disciplina l'esecuzione della prestazione lavorativa svolta all'esterno dei locali aziendali, anche con riguardo alle forme di esercizio del potere direttivo del datore di lavoro ed agli strumenti utilizzati dal lavoratore.
[22] The provision further states that if an employee exercises their right to disconnect, the employer may not consider this act as a breach of professional duty.
[25] Firstly it aims to make time spent engaging with work-related electronic tools outside of work hours come under the definition of 'hours worked' under Article 48, secondly it would insert Articles 48-A and 48-B which read;"Right to disconnect -- An employee shall not be reprimanded, punished, or otherwise subjected to disciplinary action if he or she disregards a work-related communication sent after work-hours, subject to the terms and conditions of the policy to be established by the employer as required in Article 84-B hereof""Policy on after-hours use of technology -- It shall be the duty of every employer to establish the hours when employees are not supposed to send or answer work-related emails, texts, or calls.
In February 2017 the Department of Labour and Employment in the Philippines stated that employees have a right to disconnect from work after hours by disregarding work-related communications without facing discipline.
GAWA cited the dangers of constant connection as a reason why the bill should pass, referring to the risk of burning out or physical and mental stress caused by an inability to rest.
Disputes will be overseen by the Fair Work Commission, which can issue stop orders to protect employers from taking action against an employee.