NCP MP Supriya Sule has introduced the “Right to Disconnect Bill, 2025” in the Lok Sabha, reviving the national conversation on work-life balance in India. The bill addresses a long-standing reality of
modern work culture: how professional obligations have steadily crept into personal time. Late-night calls, weekend emails, and meetings during leave have, over the years, been normalised as part of an employee’s “responsibility,” blurring the boundary between work hours and personal life.
This conversation sharpened further after the COVID-19 pandemic, when remote and hybrid work turned homes into offices. With work moving online, employees across sectors found themselves expected to be reachable all the time, often without additional pay or recognition.
As after-hours communication becomes an unspoken global norm, several countries have already stepped in with laws and regulations to protect downtime and ensure digital boundaries. India’s proposed bill now enters this global conversation on the future of work. Here’s how other nations have drawn the legal line between work and personal life.
Right To Disconnect Around The World
France was the first country to formally recognise the burnout risks of an “always-on” digital culture. In 2016, it amended its labour code to give workers a legal “right to disconnect.”
The policy requires companies with more than 50 employees to negotiate or establish internal guidelines on after-hours communication, effectively giving workers the right to ignore emails once they’re off the clock.
It doesn’t ban bosses from sending messages, but it puts the responsibility on employers to create clear boundaries. In practice, this made France the first major economy to treat digital downtime as a matter of workers’ rights, not personal discipline.
Belgium expanded the concept by making disconnect protocols compulsory for many organisations. Since 2023, companies with 20 or more employees have been required to draft formal internal policies ensuring workers are not contacted, pressured, or penalised for switching off after hours.
These policies must include clear rules on rest periods and the use of digital tools, a framework intended to prevent blurred boundaries, especially in hybrid workplaces. Though enforcement varies, Belgium’s approach places legal responsibility squarely on employers, not individual workers.
Spain has taken one of the strictest positions in Europe. The country incorporated the right to disconnect into its labour and telework laws, protecting both office and remote employees.
Unlike many others, Spain attaches penalties to violations. If companies fail to create or follow disconnection policies, labour inspectors can treat it as a regulatory offence. The message is clear: respecting rest hours is not a company preference; it is a compliance issue.
Country With The Toughest Regulation
Portugal’s rules are among the most stringent. The employers are legally restricted from contacting workers outside official working hours except in emergencies.
Even a call or message itself can be treated as a breach. In addition, the law guarantees an uninterrupted daily rest window of 11 hours. For Portugal, disconnection is not a recommendation; it is a protected part of workers’ private lives.
A Modern, Flexible Version Of The Right
Italy and Greece embed the right to disconnect primarily within telework regulations, recognising the blurred boundaries in remote setups.
In Italy, every remote or flexible work contract must define rest periods and outline technical or organisational safeguards that allow employees to disengage from digital devices.
Greece’s rules similarly require employers to avoid contacting teleworkers during rest hours and explicitly prohibit discrimination against those who exercise their right to disconnect.
Outside Europe, Australia has emerged as a key adopter. Its recent law allows employees to refuse after-hours calls, texts, and emails unless responding is “reasonable” — a standard evaluated based on urgency, role requirements, or workplace context.
If disputes arise, workers can escalate the matter to the Fair Work Commission, giving the rule real enforceability.
