The right to disconnect can be understood as the right in which the employee is not obligated to stay connected, reply, or take calls after the stipulated working hours, and this practice will not be subject to any disciplinary action against the employee.
The incident also made intellects elaborate on the need for the “Right to Disconnect” in India and how crucial is it for the modern generation. The aspects considered for a valid approach to this right can be determined as:
- The social bonds of the employees get weakened by lack of adequate time to invest in family and communication is limited by the work pressure.
- According to an article led in The Hindu[1], it was observed that most IT employees and women in media and professional jobs invest 55 hours and more in a week for their fulfilment of work.
- Research conducted by the ADP Research Institute critically analyzed the impact on the mental health of the employees who were working over 55 hours a week, most of the cases resulted in some or the other mental degradation.
- Loss of productivity has also been observed when the workload is not equitably balanced and in a greater aspect it may also affect the company’s objectives.
Background
The significant start-up “Yes Madame” established its market eminently in India, yet there have been multiple concerns regarding the work pressure of the employees in the company, and when complained about, they were terminated from their employment, this was the rumour which spread like a forest fire and flashed in the media houses.
The incident inculcated with internal surveys which were conducted to ascertain the report of work culture or working stress in the company, in Delhi NCR, they were asked to fill questionnaire, in order to obtain the answers from the employees, from answers, it was evidently found that the employees had grievances pertaining to after hour works, workload, stress and also had to compromise their personal life and emails from employees were also scrutinized which also indicated the stress, but to this, the company did not undergo any redressal activity but decided to part way from the employees and was driven by a profit-driven motive.
A follow-up email was sent to the employees about their termination from the company, which was the point at which people started to rage against the company. The out flash in social media resulted in heavy criticism of the company policy in employee welfare schemes. In the latter half of the campaign, they announced the act of firing the employees as an awareness campaign on work-life stress.
Many critics were of the opinion that it was a publicity stunt to build the brand value and capture the market, but the positive takeaway from this campaign is that it set an alarming factor in society about the immense work pressure on employees which eventually downlines the personal wellbeing of the individuals
Status of “right to disconnect” in India
India has no specified law to promote the practice of disconnect explicitly and it has become an urgent factor to be considered and a necessary legal framework should be constituted to govern the welfare of the employees. Article 38 of the Indian Constitution though provides for promoting the welfare of the people, and Article 39 (e) ensures the health of the employees.
Judicial precedents have at times uplifted the workspace security and provided guidelines to maintain the welfare of the employees, In Vishakha V. State of Rajasthan (1997)[2] provided detailed guidelines on the working environment and ensuring safety for the women at the workplace. In another recent judgment, Ravindra Kumar Dhariwal and Ors. V. Union Of India (2021)[3] the welfare of the disabled was established and employment of such people was restored.
The Factories Act, 1948, regulates working hours, but that should be further reviewed as per contemporary requirements, and necessary amendments should be made to regulate the rule of disconnect.
Work-life balance in India is a grey area still now, as there is a lack of legal domination or concrete legislation to address the issues, the corporate sector needs some kind of regulations so that the dominance of the capitalist class can be put to control and these exploitations can be curbed.
Global Determinants
The French legislation of the Labour Chamber makes it non-binding on the employees to respond after working hours or even assign work from home or carry any tools or files to home, and it cannot be questioned for the same. This system provides the employees with the opportunity to comprehend work-life balance.
In Portuguese legislation, there is a provision for the right to disconnect which also attracts liabilities on the employer if they are made to connect after working hours. They can even be penalized for the same.
The protection of personal data and guarantee of digital rights, of Spanish legislation guarantees that public employees shall have the right to disconnect all forms of communication after working hours, the essence behind this practice was the maintenance of a healthy family culture and reduced mental stress. This also promoted a healthy work culture and work-life balance.
The Australian legal structure also initiated this practice in their “Fair Work Legislation Amendment” which determined the employee’s right to disconnect after the prescribed time. They would be completely free from their work liabilities after working hours and there would be no obligations on them.
Ireland has also given importance to the rights of employees by establishing explicit recognition of the right to disconnect as an essential practice to promote the welfare of the employees and encourage the workers, without making them exhausted of work pressure.
Personal Analysis
In a country like India, which is blooming in industrialization and adopting the first-paced life, the corporate culture is accelerated towards a more toxic and oppressive environment. When people are driven by an accumulation of wealth, neglecting their personal well-being or even if they try the workload becomes a barrier to achieving a healthy lifestyle. The corporate sector takes that opportunity to exploit their employees, making them work extra hours, or provide after-service facilities, even after the completion of the stipulated working time.
These organizations in the name of mere bonuses and additional benefits, or even threaten to deduct from their salary, take the benefit of furnishing more work from these employees. The right to disconnect would be their legal choice to get relief from this trap of exploitation from the corporate sharks and would enjoy the opportunity to be with family or even explore some kind of passion after work, which will also help in enhancing the mental health of the employees as well.
Especially in the case of women who are entitled to a lot of responsibility of maintaining a family and nurturing the child, it becomes essential to be disconnected from the work, so that they can focus on the upbringing of the child, in the time she is relieved from the work. The right to disconnect should be legally applicable in India, concerning the situation and proved by the mental agony of the people through various surveys.
Suggestions
- The primary concern that should be dealt with in the current scenario is an exhaustive legislature that would govern the work culture and regulations for facilitating work-life balance for the employees.
- A committee should be constituted to keep check on the functioning and draft welfare schemes for the employees.
- The employees should be given the right to disconnect, and the enforcement of the right should also be ensured by the committees.
- There should be necessary sanctions implied to the companies or organisations if they do not abide by the rule of disconnecting after work so that the companies also have a deterrence mechanism and the employees feel empowered.
- The acknowledgement of the rights of the employees should be determined and made aware to the employees, through legal aids.
Conclusion
India has come forward to openly discuss the rights of employees in recent times by considering the level of stress, the gravity of the current situation has been supplemented with the current reports of young death rates, which had an underlying factor of work-life stress, and even mental ailment which impacts a healthy life of individuals.
India being on the edge of development should stringent the legal framework of work culture as well or else the employees will be massively exploited, it is high time to recognize their rights and take inspiration from foreign legislation and amend and institute new legislation to govern the current situation or the youth proficiency will be stagnated which can become a hurdle in development.
[1] The Hindu, Indians Need the Right to Disconnect, (https://www.thehindu.com/opinion/op-ed/indians-need-the-right-to-disconnect/article68965394.ece )
[2] Vishaka v. State of Rajasthan, (1997) 6 S.C.C. 241
[3] Ravindra Kumar Dhariwal v. Union of India, (2010) 6 S.C.C. 329
Author: Megha Saha is a LLM student at Symbiosis Law School, Hyderabad
