There have been reports in the press that workers who are repeatedly contacted outside their normal working hours may be able to claim uplifted compensation under the government's proposed "right to switch off". The introduction of this new right was promised in the government's 'Plan to Make Work Pay'.
It seems likely that the new right will be enacted through a code of practice. Although a code of practice would not create a freestanding compensation claim, it could result in workers being able to claim up to a 25% uplift in compensation when bringing certain other claims.
There is no further detail on this, so time will tell. In the meantime though government sources have reportedly said that any new policy will be specific to individual workplaces. It's currently the position in Belgium that there's an onus on employers to agree contact hours with workers, so it may be that something along these lines will be introduced.
Once we have further information on the "right to switch off" we'll let you know.
