Staff repeatedly contacted by their bosses outside of normal working hours may receive thousands of pounds more in compensation under Government plans.
Plans to introduce a ‘right to switch off’, allowing workers to separate their home and work lives, could see staff who are contacted consistently secure larger payouts awarded by employment tribunals.
The ‘right to switch off’ proposal would see employers restricted from contacting workers by phone or email outside working hours and could be similar to legislation already introduced in France.
Policies are still reportedly being worked out but they would involve a code of practice agreed by employers and employees, setting out expectations of normal working hours when staff should expect to be contacted.
Although a breach of an out-of-hours code of practice is unlikely to warrant litigation in itself, it may leave employers with thousands of pounds added onto compensation bills, according to the Times.
Employees would be able to use the breach as an aggravating factor to increase their potential compensation and chances of winning the claim.
Codes of practice that are ignored and are set out by conciliation service Acas, which deals with workplace relations, can see compensation currently increased by as much as 25 per cent.
Employers are not required to follow Acas policies but it comes at the risk of having to make larger payouts should employees be wronged.
The Times has been told that ministers are considering a similar penalty if companies are shown to consistently breach agreements on out-of-hours working, and experts have claimed this could reach thousands of pounds.
A Government source said: “This is an ongoing discussion, we’ve not settled on a position yet, [but] it has to be specific to each workplace and therefore it has to be something that businesses and their workforce agree among themselves rather than a diktat — and we’re conscious of the disproportionate impacts of these sort of policies on smaller businesses, that will factor in to how we draft it.”
Ben Smith, senior associate at the employment law firm GQ Littler, said: “I expect [the changes] will include a new code of practice from Acas which will put the onus on employers to implement policies and practices.
“I expect, though, that this will be fairly broad guidance on principles and best practice, and would give employers the scope and flexibility to find the right balance for their business — but there will be tricky issues to think through.”
Reports of a ‘right to switch’ off come as it recently emerged that an Employment Rights Bill would be rolled out within the first 100 days of Labour coming to power.
Other measures taken to meet employers’ rights by the new government, and under the bill, includes banning “exploitative” zero-hours contracts, ending policies of fire and re-hire, and making parental leave, sick pay and protection from unfair dismissal available from day one in a job for all workers.
Ruth Wilkinson, head of policy at the Institution of Occupational Safety and Health (IOSH), said: “The Government’s move to strengthen workers’ rights will provide hope and reassurance for many millions of people.
“A ban on zero-hours contracts is long overdue.
“Such contracts make workers increasingly vulnerable in terms of their physical and mental health, as they add a huge degree of uncertainty around the duration of employment and unpredictable working hours.
“Meanwhile, improvements to statutory sick pay will go a long way to preventing people from returning to work too soon which can also contribute to long-term impacts on their health.”
