The lack of digital disconnection can have important consequences for the health of workers

The right to digital disconnection has been expressly recognized in the Spanish legal system, not only through Organic Law 3/2018, of December 5, on the Protection of Personal Data and Guarantee of Digital Rights, but also through the regulation contained in article 20 bis of the Workers’ Statute.

This provision clearly establishes that Workers have the right to digital disconnection outside of working timeensuring respect for their rest time and avoiding hyperconnectivity outside of the working day.

Since its incorporation, companies have the obligation to respect it, since Non-compliance can lead to psychosocial risks for workers and in the imposition of sanctions by the Labor Inspection.

The concept of digital disconnection did not arise ex novo in Labor Law, but is an evolution of the right to rest that was already enshrined in jurisprudence and labor regulations. Traditionally, courts have protected workers’ right to disconnect from their work obligations outside of work hours.

The lack of digital disconnection can have important consequences for the health of workers. Among the main risks are work stresshe syndrome burnout and the sleep disordersall of them derived from the impossibility of adequately separating work time from personal time.

These risks, being directly related to working conditions, are considered psychosocial risks, so companies have the duty to prevent themin accordance with the Occupational Risk Prevention Law.

One of the most significant precedents is a 2017 Supreme Court ruling, in which a contractual clause that required a worker to be permanently available to answer calls outside of working hours was considered abusive. This ruling highlighted the need to regulate disconnection time to guarantee the right to rest and avoid the violation of fundamental rights, such as privacy and health.

The explicit recognition of this right in the legal framework was the catalyst for many organizations to begin implementing formal policies that limited communications outside of work hours. However, the evolution has been uneven, depending on the sector, the size of the company and its degree of digitalization.

In the workplace, digital disconnection represents a significant challenge for the companies that, due to its structure, They may be tempted to contact their workers outside of working hours, especially in those sectors where teleworking and flexible hours have been consolidated..

This situation has led to an increase in regulations and demands from workers to guarantee a framework that allows a clear differentiation between work time and rest time.

Furthermore, with the digitalization of work, especially enhanced by the Covid-19 pandemic and the rise of teleworking, the need for specific regulation of digital disconnection became even more evident.

The Remote Work Law of 2021 (Law 10/2021) reinforced this right, establishing in its article 18 that companies must adopt appropriate measures to ensure that workers can disconnect from the digital tools used for work, outside of working time. .

However, despite these provisions, the realization of the right in many cases is relegated to collective bargaining or specific agreements in companies, which has generated a certain disparity in its effective application.

Today, it is clear that companies must adopt clear protocols and effective measures to protect workers from hyperconnectivity and its associated risks.

One of the most frequent mechanisms that companies have developed to comply with the right to digital disconnection has been the creation of internal protocols, which specify the policies for the use of digital devices outside of working hours.

These policies usually include measures such as prohibiting sending emails or making calls outside of working hours except in cases of urgency. Likewise, time control systems are established that accurately record when the worker’s working day begins and ends, so that the time of effective connection to work can be controlled.

Furthermore, the implementation of automatic email response systems is another of the strategies that have been adopted. These systems allow automatic responses to be sent outside of office hours, informing the sender that the worker will not be available until the next business day, in order to discourage any expectation of an immediate response. This measure, in addition to protecting the worker, establishes clear limits for both hierarchical superiors and co-workers.

However, the simple implementation of these tools has not been enough to guarantee correct application of the right to digital disconnection. Raising awareness and training employees and managers on the importance of respecting this right has been crucial..

Awareness and training on digital disconnection is crucial

The most advanced companies in this area have carried out training programs aimed at raising awareness among their employees about the need to maintain a clear separation between work and personal life, and the risks that hyperconnectivity entails for mental health and well-being. general.

In sectors with a strong technological dependence, companies have had to face additional challenges. The implementation of mobile work devices such as smartphones and tablets has increased the temptation to contact employees outside their normal hours, which has required the development of strict controls and the use of technologies to limit access to work tools after the workday has ended.

Some organizations have chosen to block access to corporate systems outside of working hours, thus ensuring respect for the right to disconnect.

An interesting case is that of large multinational corporations, which have adopted digital disconnection policies that go beyond the legal minimums, aware of the benefits that this brings not only in terms of regulatory compliance, but also in increased productivity. and the well-being of its employees. These companies have begun to see digital disconnection not only as a legal obligation, but as a competitive advantage in an environment where burnout and work stress have become frequent problems.

Collective bargaining has also played a key role in the evolution of the measures adopted by companies. In many sectors, unions have pushed for the right to digital disconnection not only to be guaranteed, but to be expanded through collective agreements that establish specific mechanisms for each industry or company.

This evolution has allowed disconnection policies to be adapted to the particular realities of each sector, as is the case in the technology sector, where time flexibility is greater and more detailed regulation is required.

From a sanctioning perspective, Failure to comply with the right to digital disconnection can be considered a serious or very serious infractiondepending on the impact on the worker’s rights. Article 7.5 of the Law on Infractions and Sanctions in the Social Order (LISOS) classifies as serious infractions business practices that violate the legal provisions relating to the working day and rest of workers. In more extreme cases, when the lack of disconnection affects fundamental rights such as privacy, very serious infractions could be incurred, punishable by fines that can exceed 225,000 euros in the most serious cases.

In conclusion, the evolution of companies in the implementation of measures for digital disconnection has been significant, but there is still a long way to go. Although many organizations have taken important steps towards implementing policies that respect this right, the reality is that the degree of implementation varies considerably depending on the sector and the size of the company.

Large companies and those more technologically advanced have led this process, while small and medium-sized companies (SMEs) still face difficulties in developing effective mechanisms that guarantee the digital disconnection of their workers.