Right to disconnect: is it coming to the UK?
Several countries have introduced a formal right to disconnect — a legal protection for workers who choose not to respond to work communications outside their contracted hours. Ireland, France, Belgium, Portugal, and others have legislation in some form. The UK does not. ERA 2025 does not introduce a statutory right to disconnect in the UK. But the pressure is building, and the practical HR implications are worth understanding now.
Ireland's Code of Practice on the Right to Disconnect, introduced in 2021, is perhaps the most instructive example for UK employers. It is not a hard legal right in Irish law — no individual can sue their employer for sending an after-hours email — but it creates an expectation that employers develop and communicate a policy on out-of-hours contact, and that workers are not penalised for choosing not to respond. The code has had a real effect on Irish workplace culture and on how Irish businesses describe their approach in job adverts and HR policies.
In the UK, the closest legal protections are the Working Time Regulations 1998, which cap average weekly working hours at 48 (subject to opt-out), require rest breaks within shifts, and mandate daily and weekly rest periods. These protections do not prevent out-of-hours emails — they prevent workers from being required to work excessive hours. The gap between "not required to work" and "not expected to respond to messages" is precisely where the right to disconnect lives, and where UK law currently has nothing to say.
For UK employers with remote or hybrid workforces, the right to disconnect question is already arriving in practice, even without legislation. Workers are asking about it in interviews. Candidates mention it in salary negotiations. Managers are receiving feedback that always-on expectations are affecting wellbeing and retention. The absence of a legal right does not mean the absence of a business problem.
What forward-thinking HR teams are doing: developing informal or formal disconnect policies that describe when workers are expected to be available, what the norm is for responding to out-of-hours messages, and what "emergency contact" looks like versus routine communication. These policies do not create legal rights — they create clarity about expectations, which is valuable regardless of the legal landscape.
For organisations with employees in Ireland, France, Belgium, or other jurisdictions where the right is legally mandated, compliance is already required. A policy developed for those jurisdictions can serve as a starting point for a UK approach, even without the legal obligation.
The broader ERA 2025 context is relevant: the Act demonstrates a political direction of travel toward greater worker protections. A right to disconnect is consistent with that direction. HR teams who develop a reasonable approach now — rather than waiting for legislation — are better placed when the change does come.
See our guides on HR for remote and hybrid teams in the UK and what ERA 2025 means for your business for related context.
Mellow's policy hub lets you draft and communicate a disconnect policy to your workforce without any technical setup. [See Mellow pricing →](https://mellowhr.com/pricing)