Setting Boundaries: Do We Need a Right to Disconnect When We Have a Fundamental Right to Rest?

Due to technological progress, many workers are able to remain connected to their employer and their colleagues as well as continue working outside the working place and working hours. This can have positive but also negative effects on workers’ lives. The European Parliament has adopted a resolution, calling on the European Commission to legislate a “right to disconnect”. A few Member States have introduced such a right; in many other countries the added value of such new legislation is still debated. One of the main arguments is that the European Union (EU) already has strong working time legislation, which sufficiently protects workers’ free time. Arguably, better enforcement of the existing rights would be more beneficial than introducing new norms, which may only call into question the existing minimum rest periods prescribed by law. This article examines the existing working time legislation and evaluates how far its protection of workers’ free time reaches and whether we need a “right to disconnect”. It shows how the Court of Justice of the European Union (CJEU) deals with the concept of “rest time” pursuant to the EU Working Time Directive. It concludes that the legal concept of “rest time” does not always include workers’ complete freedom to manage their own time in the meaning of complete absence of any work-related obligations as is usually assumed. Even though a right to disconnect would not solve all problems related to the “always-on”culture, the author concludes that legislating such a right would be a step in the right direction.