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Louise Thomas
Editor
Staff who are consistently contacted by bosses outside of normal working hours could be in line for thousands of pounds of compensation under Labour plans.
The government’s plans to introduce a right to switch off, establishing a barrier between workers’ professional and home lives, could see staff securing bumper payouts at employment tribunals.
The policy, which will see employees and employers agree to an expected set of hours during which they can be contacted, has been based partly on examples in Belgium and Ireland.
And, according to The Times, employers who repeatedly breach an agreement could have thousands of pounds added to their compensation bills if they are taken to tribunal.
Breaching an out-of-hours code of practice is unlikely to warrant litigation alone but employees could use it as an aggravating factor in a wider claim, boosting their chances of winning and increasing their potential compensation, the paper reported.
Under the current system, if companies are shown to have ignored codes of practice, the amount of compensation awarded in tribunals can increase by 25 per cent, with breaches seen as aggravating factors.
Experts told The Times that breaching agreements on out-of-hours working could result in payments reaching into the thousands.
Ben Smith, senior associate at the employment law firm GQ Littler, said: “I expect [the changes] will include a new code of practice from Acas which will put the onus on employers to implement policies and practices. I expect, though, that this will be fairly broad guidance on principles and best practice, and would give employers the scope and flexibility to find the right balance for their business — but there will be tricky issues to think through.”
Government sources said the policy would have to be specific to each workplace when implemented, with ministers aware of the disproportionate potential impact on smaller companies.
The right to switch off is part of a suite of reforms to workers’ rights being introduced by Labour. Other measures include a ban on exploitative zero-hour contracts, ending fire and rehire, and boosting the minimum wage. It will also offer rights to sick pay, parental leave and protection against unfair dismissal from day one after probation.
The Department for Business and Trade said the government “is proud to be delivering the biggest upgrade to workers’ rights in a generation”.
A spokesperson said: “Our plan to ‘make work pay’ will consider a range of approaches on the right to ‘switch off’ that work for businesses and employees alike. We will set out further details in due course.”
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