The Problem of Right to Disconnect: European experience

Abstract

The study explores the right to disconnect as a means of regulation of digital labor management in the European Union and the Russian Federation. The issue of remote work regulation and preventing risks has become particularly crucial, due to the rise of remote work during the pandemic of COVID-19. Though social distancing measures were cancelled, society and business sphere had a demand for new types of work. The aim of the study is to scrutinise the features of the right to disconnect in the EU and Russia. The research briefly describes the changes in the working sphere as a result of digitalization as well as analyses the approaches to the right to disconnect and explores the practices of implementation of the right to disconnect in several EU country members and the changes in the Labor Code of the Russian Federation. The study reveals differences not only in the ways of implementation of the right to disconnect but also in the way the essence of the right is defined. In other words, the problem of the right to disconnect is based on what is meant by «disconnect» and digital rights. The study sheds light on one of the components of the system of regulation of digital labor management as well as on the importance of differentiating between the right to disconnect and similar existing rights.

Keywords

• the european union
• social policy
• european social model
• european pillar of social rights
• right to disconnect
• telework
• covid-19
• working time
• change in work conditions
• right to be offline