The Labour Party's Proposals To Balance Work And Home Life - A Spotlight On The Right To Disconnect, Flexible Working And Caring Responsibilities

• Law Firm: Lewis Silkin
• Subject Matter: Employment and HR, Health & Safety, Redundancy/Layoff, Employee Rights/ Labour Relations
• Author: Lucy Lewis and Rosie Moore
• Published date: 09 August 2023

With a general election in the UK looming next year and Labour performing strongly in the polls, we're exploring what the employment law landscape might look like under a Keir Starmer-led Labour government by examining their wide-ranging proposals for reform. In this article, we consider Labour's proposals to introduce a right to disconnect and to support flexible working and caring responsibilities.

In 2021, Labour launched their Employment Rights Green Paper 'A new deal for working people' and committed to introducing new employment laws within the first 100 days of government. Many of the Green Paper's reform proposals were reflected more recently in a wide-ranging programme of provisional policies obtained by LabourList. Although the policies will need to be signed off by the party's national policy forum over the summer, they are likely to form the blueprint shaping the party's manifesto for the general election.

Included in these proposed reforms are commitments from the Labour Party to:

• introduce a new right to disconnect;
• introduce a day one right to flexible working; and
• reform aspects of existing family leave rights and protections.

Right to disconnect

What is driving the interest in a right to disconnect?

Over the past few years, the question of how we maintain a balance between home and work life has become increasingly debated, driven in part by the growing number of employees working remotely. While many have experienced the upsides to greater flexibility in how, where and when they work, regular home working can make it more difficult to "switch off" from work, with employees' evenings often being interrupted by calls and emails. We have also seen broader shifts, particularly among younger generations, in what people are demanding from their jobs - purpose, flexibility, autonomy and belonging are all becoming increasingly important to the workforce. James Davies, Partner at Lewis Silkin LLP, discussed these shifting expectations in his latest report for Lewis Silkin's Future of Work Hub, Eight drivers of change: 2022 and beyond.

The pandemic has also led to greater awareness of mental health at work and growing expectations on employers to do more to protect their employees' wellbeing. A report last year by the CIPD found that more than a third of employers had seen an increase in flexible working requests over the previous six months and that employees with flexible working arrangements are more satisfied than those without. This evolving landscape is reflected in Labour's proposals on the "right to disconnect".

Labour's Green Paper proposals commit to introducing a new "right to switch off". This would mean that workers had the right to disconnect from work outside of working hours and not be contacted by their employer. In an interview with the Financial Times, Angela Rayner, Deputy Leader of the Labour Party and Shadow Secretary for the Future of Work, confirmed that this right would likely form part of the party's manifesto for the next general election.

What is the current legal position on the right to disconnect in the UK?

In the UK there are a number of existing legal obligations relevant to this area, albeit they are arguably not particularly effective:

• Under the Working Time Regulations 1998 (WTR) in Great Britain and equivalent legislation in Northern Ireland, employees are not permitted to work more than 48 hours a week on average (usually averaged over 17 weeks). Employees can choose to opt out of the 48-hour week, with employers in some industries encouraging their employees to opt out due to the nature of their roles. The WTR also entitles workers to daily and weekly rest periods, subject to certain exemptions.
• Under health and safety law (both legislation and implied duties of care), employers have a duty to protect the health safety and welfare of their employees. They must do whatever is reasonably practicable to achieve this, which could include allowing their employees an effective break from work to avoid burnout. The bar for establishing a breach of these duties is set high, however, so this does not amount to a right to disconnect.
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