Abstract
In the digital age, the boundaries between working time and non-working time are becoming increasingly blurred. In today’s working world, more and more employees are being contacted by their employers during leisure time, which can have a significant negative impact on health and safety at work, work-life balance and recovery from work. This raises the question of whether there is or should be a ‘right to be unavailable’ during non-working time, which may be universally defined as the right of employees not to engage in work-related activities or communications by means of digital tools or other communication tools outside working time. This article first highlights the practical need for statutory regulation. The main aim of the article is to identify key elements of a fair and balanced regulatory framework, which is based on an analysis of the basic forms of a regulation, including specific regulatory examples from other countries. The view taken here is that a ban on the employer contacting the employee, including appropriate exceptions for emergencies, is preferable to the more common employee’s right to ignore contact from the employer (‘right to disconnect’ or ‘right to be disconnected’ respectively). Important regulatory issues are the scope, including small business exemptions; preventive action and information; the duty to reconnect; the level of regulation; the protection against adverse treatment or consequences; monitoring and enforcement; sanctions and non-regression.