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Rayner’s email switch-off is potential ‘minefield’ for employers
Majority of employers disagree with plan to restrict out of hours contact with staff
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Angela Rayner’s plans to give workers a right to switch off threatens to create a “playground for ambulance chasers”, an employers’ group has claimed.
A new survey by the Institute of Directors (IoD) found that most employers disagree with the Government’s plans to restrict contact with staff outside of working hours and fear a slew of legal action.
One business leader in the health and social work sector told the IoD: “The ability to contact an employee ‘in extremis’ is valuable and, depending on the business and their role, potentially critical.
“This may need to be included in terms of employment and contract, but a law preventing this is potentially a minefield and playground for ambulance chasers.”
It comes as businesses await a package of employment rights reforms from the Government in next week’s King’s Speech. Labour has promised to give workers the right to switch off, meaning that bosses would be blocked from late night work emails and calls out of hours.
The policy is part of a package of workers’ rights reforms championed by Angela Rayner, the Deputy Prime Minister. She said last year that “constant emails and calls outside of work should not be the norm and is harming work-life balance for many”.
Business leaders raised concerns about the need for flexibility in emergency situations and the implications for companies operating across multiple time zones. They also argued that more senior workers should be more open to out-of-hours contact compared to their more junior colleagues.
A survey conducted by IoD in March found that business leaders agree that out-of-hours contact should not be “excessive or unreasonable” and some government intervention may be required to curb abuse.
However, the IoD warned that such intervention should not undermine flexible working policies and hamper a businesses’ ability to function. The IoD, which represents 20,000 company directors across the UK, noted that calls for a “blanket ban” on out of hours contact is ironically based on the traditional idea of a 9 to 5 job.
A Department for Business and Trade spokesman said: “This government is backing working people by boosting wages and making work more secure.
“By working in partnership with businesses, trade unions and civil society, we will put our New Deal for Working People into practice.”