Sule pushes for work-life balance, brings bill on employees’ right to disconnect

New Delhi: Bringing into focus the importance of work-life balance in the digital era, NCP (SP)’s Supriya Sule has introduced a private member’s bill in Lok Sabha proposing establishing an ‘employees welfare authority’ to confer the right on employees to disconnect from work-related phone calls & e-mails beyond work hours and on holidays.

“Right to Disconnect Bill, 2025, fosters a better quality of life and a healthier work-life balance by reducing burnout caused by today’s digital culture,” Sule had said on X after the bill was introduced on Dec 5. Friday is reserved for private member’s bills in Parliament.

The ‘statement of objects and reasons’ of the bill says: “According to a report released by World Economic Forum, the proportion of mobile workers who could work from any location, is expected to rise beyond 70%. While this has benefits in terms of work flexibility, it also carries with it a significant risk of erosion of boundaries between professional and personal life.”

The bill emphasises “the need to respect personal space of employees by recognising their right to disconnect and not respond to their employers’ calls, emails, etc, during out-of-work hours”. It seeks to impose sanctions at the rate of 1% of total employees’ remuneration on entities (companies or societies) for any non-compliance with the bill’s provisions.

The bill also provides for counselling services to increase awareness among employees and citizens, on reasonable use of digital and communication tools, for professional and personal use. To free employees from digital distractions and enable them to truly connect with people around then, it provides for digital detox centres.

The bill also takes into consideration the competitive needs of companies and their diverse work cultures. Calling for flexibility in the right to disconnect rules, it leaves it to the companies to negotiate terms of service with their employees for working out-of-work hours.

“The bill thus champions for the rights and welfare of employees, by mandating individual entities to negotiate out-of-hour service conditions with their employees, and upholding the right of employee to disconnect,” it stated.
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