It’s 9:30 p.m. and an “urgent” email lands. Reply now or wait until morning? For millions of workers, now that remote work is here to stay, the line between work and private life keeps getting thinner. That’s why several countries have recognised a real right to disconnect.
What Italian law says
Law 81/2017 on smart working requires the individual agreement to set out the technical and organisational measures that ensure the worker can disconnect from work devices. Decree-Law 30/2021 (converted by Law 61/2021) then explicitly recognised the right to disconnect for smart workers, with no consequences for their employment or pay. The National Protocol on smart working of 7 December 2021 encourages collective agreements to define disconnection time bands.
Beyond Italy
- France: since 1 January 2017 companies with at least 50 employees must negotiate how the “droit à la déconnexion” works.
- Spain: Organic Law 3/2018 (art. 88) protects digital disconnection.
- Portugal: since 2021 employers must refrain from contacting employees during rest periods, except in cases of force majeure.
- Australia: since 26 August 2024 (and since 26 August 2025 in small businesses too) employees may refuse to monitor or respond to out-of-hours contact unless the refusal is unreasonable.
- European Union: on 21 January 2021 the European Parliament called for a directive on the issue.
Numbers worth thinking about
According to Eurofound, remote workers are twice as likely to exceed the 48-hour weekly limit; in Italy and Slovenia about one worker in four is contacted every day outside working hours. And the law alone isn’t enough: in France, in 2021, 60% of workers said their company still had no formal right in place.
Good practice from companies
As early as 2011, Volkswagen stopped forwarding company emails to some employees’ smartphones from 30 minutes after the end of their shift until 30 minutes before the next one. Daimler’s “Mail on Holiday” lets staff have emails received during their holidays automatically deleted, pointing the sender to a colleague instead.
What we can do starting tomorrow
- Schedule the emails we write in the evening.
- Agree on availability hours and a channel for real emergencies within the team.
- Show working hours in email signatures and shared calendars.
- Lead by example: managers who don’t write after hours change the culture more than any policy.
Disconnecting doesn’t mean working less well: it means coming back with more energy and clarity.
How does it work in your company? Clear rules, or “reply whenever you can”?
Sources
- Italian Law 81/2017, art. 19; Decree-Law 30/2021, art. 2(1-ter), converted by Law 61/2021; National Protocol on smart working, 7/12/2021
- Loi n° 2016-1088 (France); Ley Orgánica 3/2018, art. 88 (Spain); Lei n.º 83/2021 (Portugal)
- Fair Work Ombudsman – Right to disconnect
- European Parliament, resolution of 21/1/2021
- Eurofound – Do we really have the right to disconnect?
- Eurofound (2021) – Right to disconnect: Exploring company practices
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