Slow roll out for new right to digital disconnection

The recent law giving employees the right to digital disconnection is taking time to become established, with more than half of people in Spain saying they still respond to work emails and calls during their summer holidays, according to business school, ESADE.

Despite some large employers such as Telefónica adopting the new legislation, old practices are dying hard, which labor lawyer from the Col·lectiu Ronda organization, Nacho Parra, says puts employees' health at risk and infringes their right to privacy.

The Organic Law on Personal Data Protection and Guarantee of Digital Rights came into force in December, making it mandatory for employers to have a “digital disconnection policy” guaranteeing the right of employees not to be connected when not at work.

Yet, the legislation leaves it to unions and employers, when negotiating collective labour agreements, to decide on the extent of the limitations on the use of digital communications at work, with both sides interpreting the law in the way that best suits those they represent.

The first to adopt the new rules was insurance firm Axa, which since 2017 has banned contact with staff outside working hours. "We're looking to adapt the use of technology to the opportunity it is and not the risk it implies," says executive, Carmen Corbatón.

Slow progress in applying the law

This is the first summer holiday period since the legislation came into force, and while it is perhaps still too soon to evaluate the full extent of the impact that the new rules are having, there is general agreement that progress seems to be slow. 

The head of labor relations at the Foment del Treball employers' association, Javier Ibars, attributes the slow pace to how recently the law was passed and predicts it will be established "progressively," as employment agreements are gradually renewed.

The different interpretations by employers and unions about how far the law should be applied can be seen especially in cases of "highly qualified professionals and executives," who usually do not have a fixed timetable and who are paid well, in part, to be available.

As a result, Ibars calls for a "specific norm" that can deal with such exceptional cases and allow such employees to receive financial compensation for making themselves available to the company outside of normal working hours.

Meanwhile, the unions point to the difficulty of applying the law where employees on short-term or temporary contracts are concerned. "One thing is the theory and another is practice in the labor market," says a senior member of the CCOO union, Cristina Torres.

Torres calls on employers' associations to agree with unions a minimum application of the law in terms of working days and the extent staff have the right to digital disconnection. "Collective bargaining does not change from one day to the next," she points out.