Right to Disconnect Bill tabled in Lok Sabha: Which other countries enforce work–life balance?

France became the first country to formally adopt the right to disconnect in 2017.

At a time when several large organisations are mulling over enforcing longer work hours, NCP-SP MP Supriya Sule on Monday tabled the Right to Disconnect Bill 2025 in Lok Sabha.

According to Sule, who shared a clip of her tabling the bill on X, it “fosters a better quality of life and a healthier work-life balance by reducing the burnout caused by today's digital culture.”

According to the Bill, the ‘right to disconnect’ means that while the employer may contact the employee after work hours, the latter is not obliged to reply. It also proposes that a refusal to be available round-the-clock will not result in disciplinary action.

Sule had proposed a similar measure in 2019, before the Covid pandemic made remote work ubiquitous.

What does the Bill propose

The Right to Disconnect Bill, 2025, is a private member's bill. A private member's bill is introduced by a Member of Parliament other than a minister. Notably, no private member's bill has ever been cleared by Parliament.

•The Bill wants organisations to negotiate clear conditions under which such out-of-office work is structured and compensated.

•Employees are not obliged to answer work calls or emails after hours.

•Companies cannot penalise workers for not responding.

•Employers may contact employees in negotiated “out-of-work periods”, such as in emergencies.

•Organisations must set up Employees’ Welfare Committees to define these protocols.

•Workers who choose to reply to after-hours communications must receive overtime pay at the normal rate.

•Non-compliance could draw a penalty equal to 1% of total employee remuneration.

The Bill also seeks to establish counselling services and digital detox centres as supportive measures for managing digital overload.

Here's what India’s new labour code says

Under India’s new labour codes, a standard workweek will remain capped at 48 hours, but employers will now have greater flexibility in deciding how those hours are distributed.

According to Vandana Gurnani, Secretary, Labour, the logic behind this flexibility is to help industries manage workload variations without breaching the weekly limit.

While the normal workday remains eight hours, she said that employers can structure longer or shorter days as long as the total does not exceed 48 hours, and overtime kicks in beyond that threshold.

Which other countries have implemented ‘right to disconnect’?

France became the first country to formally adopt the right to disconnect in 2017. It mandates employers to ensure workers are not expected to respond outside normal hours. Some companies there have even blocked after-hours email access to enforce compliance.

Belgium, Argentina, the Philippines and Australia have since passed similar measures. Australia adopted its law in 2024, extending protections to millions of workers in a labour market grappling with burnout and rising mental-health concerns. New York City considered a similar Bill in 2018, though it did not advance into law.

Spain, Italy, Portugal, Slovakia, Slovenia and other European states have enacted statutory or regulatory rules requiring employers to define availability windows.