After work and on vacation, employees should be able to switch off their work and communication devices such as smartphones or laptops without any negative consequences. This is what the EU Parliament calls for in a report that was adopted by a large majority on Thursday. 472 MPs voted for the initiative, 126 on the other hand, 83 abstained.

The value of a healthy work-life balance In particular, teleworking from home, which has become part of everyday life for many Europeans during the corona pandemic, has according to the representatives of the people underlined the importance of a healthy work-life balance. They criticize the fact that there is currently no explicit EU legal regulation on non-availability outside of regular working hours. The EU Commission should therefore create a corresponding legal framework that the member states would then have to implement.

According to the decision, the EU countries should, for example, have clauses in Collective agreements ensure that workers can effectively exercise their basic right to shutdown. This is essential to protect the health of the working population. The culture of “always on” and the growing expectation that employees can be reached at any time could have a negative impact on the work-life balance, physical and mental fitness and well-being.

Digital Work tools also have significant disadvantages, emphasizes Parliament on the recommendation of its Committee on Employment and Social Affairs. Due to the constant “on-call duty” working hours could be extended. The boundaries between professional and private life threatened to blur. It must therefore be clear to all employees that they should refrain from work-related tasks and electronic communication outside of working hours.

A lot of work in the home office An impetus for the initiative was the increase in teleworking during the fight against the Corona crisis. According to a recent survey by the Eurofound Foundation for Better Living and Working Conditions, around a third of all Europeans have been working from home since the outbreak of the pandemic. However, many find it difficult to “leave” the home office on time. 27 Percentage of participants working at home stated that they also work in their free time in order to meet the demands of their job. Before starting work, an email is sent or a call from colleagues is accepted after work.

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The Commission must now submit a corresponding legal act or justify why it is not following Parliament’s appeal. At the Brussels government institution, the MPs are unlikely to fall on deaf ears. Nicolas Schmit, Commissioner for Employment, Social Affairs and Integration, emphasized at the beginning 2020: “The right to switch off is something completely normal, because we are not robots . ” In this country, the SPD in particular has been warning for a long time that employees must be protected “from excessive use and the requirement of constant availability or presence by the employer”.

(mho)