India’s Right to Disconnect: Drawing a Line After Office Hours

India is finally putting a name, and a law - to a problem most employees know too well: the expectation to be “always on.” The proposed Right to Disconnect Bill, 2025 aims to give workers a legally protected right to switch off from work communication after office hours without fear of retaliation.

What the Right to Disconnect Bill Proposes

The bill, introduced in the Lok Sabha by NCP MP Supriya Sule, seeks to give employees the legal right to refuse work-related calls, messages, and emails beyond official working hours and on holidays. It clearly states that employees should not be compelled to respond to official communication outside working hours and cannot be disciplined for choosing not to respond.

• Employees are not obliged to answer work calls, emails, texts, or video calls after hours.
• No disciplinary action can be taken for refusing to respond post working hours.
• The protection covers all forms of digital communication and applies to interactions with managers, clients, and colleagues.

How Emergencies and Exceptions Will Work

Recognising that some industries and roles may need genuine after-hours contact, the bill proposes a structured framework instead of a blanket ban. It calls for a committee to define mutually agreed rules between employers and employees on when and how people can be contacted in emergencies.

Under these provisions:

• Employers and employees must pre-negotiate specific time windows or conditions for emergency contact.
• Any work done beyond normal hours should attract overtime pay at the normal wage rate, rather than being treated as “free availability.”
• Organisations that violate the right could face a penalty of 1% of total employee remuneration, creating a financial deterrent to abuse.

Why This Bill Matters in Today’s Digital Work Culture

The bill’s statement of objects directly links the need for this law to the rise of digital tools that blur lines between work and personal life. Constant emails, chat pings, and calls have created a culture where employees feel permanently reachable, often without additional pay or formal recognition.

The proposal cites research connecting this “always on” culture to:

• Sleep deprivation and disrupted rest cycles.
• Chronic stress and emotional exhaustion.
• “Telepressure” - the anxiety of needing to reply instantly to work messages.
• “Info-obesity” - mental overload from continuous monitoring of digital communication.

In a country where the standard legal work week already stands at 48 hours, one of the more demanding globally. The bill frames the right to disconnect as essential to protecting mental health, preventing burnout, and promoting sustainable productivity.

Where Things Stand Now

The Right to Disconnect Bill, 2025 is a Private Member’s Bill, meaning it has been introduced by an MP who is not a minister. Such bills rarely become law quickly, but they play a crucial role in shaping debate, signalling public concern, and pushing the government to act. Sule had proposed a similar bill in 2019, and its reintroduction in 2025 reflects how much more urgent the issue has become in a hyper-digital, post-pandemic work environment.

For employers, this proposal is a warning shot that “always available” is no longer a sustainable or acceptable default. For employees, it represents a potential legal shield to reclaim personal time, mental space, and boundaries in a system that often rewards overwork. As the discussion progresses in Parliament, the Right to Disconnect could become one of the defining workplace reforms of India’s digital era.

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