Right to disconnect: A draft Law is under debate at the Italian Parliament

At a glance

• Italy is introducing a new law to protect workers' right to disconnect from work outside of regular hours.
• Employees will be guaranteed a minimum of 12 uninterrupted hours of rest after work.
• Employers will be prohibited from contacting employees during their off-hours, except in emergencies.
• Companies that violate this law could face significant fines.

Following the European Parliament’s 2021 resolution that the right to disconnect should be recognised as a fundamental employee right, a draft law has been introduced to the Italian Parliament. This initiative aims to clearly separate an employees' personal time from work-related communications. The draft law focuses on employees’ right to avoid receiving communications from their employer or supervisor outside of regular working hours, ensuring a minimum 12-hour period of uninterrupted rest after the end of a workday.

The draft Law defines 'work-related communication' as any form of contact between employers and employees via phone, email, instant messaging services, or any kind of platforms.

Any work-related communications sent outside regular working hours would not require a response unless deemed urgent or necessary. In such cases, the employees would only be required to address the issue when their regular working hours resume.

A notable aspect of the proposal is the extension of these protections to self-employed workers and professionals, with their professional bodies required to adjust their codes of conduct within six months of the law’s implementation. Non-compliance with the right to disconnect would result in fines ranging from EUR500 to EUR3,000 for each affected employee.