Beautiful Virgin Islands

Saturday, Jul 26, 2025

Working from home: Call to ban out-of-hours emails from bosses

Working from home: Call to ban out-of-hours emails from bosses

"Work has got more stressful over the last year," says Claire Mullaly.

"There's a pressure to check emails, jump on video calls and to be on hand at all hours of the day, and it's become harder to draw a line between work and home life."

Claire, an IT consultant from Northern Ireland, argues the situation facing her and millions of others working from home during the pandemic "isn't sustainable".

And, with many of its members warning that their mental health is being compromised, the trade union Prospect is calling for the government to give employees a legally binding "right to disconnect".

This would ban bosses from "routinely emailing or calling" outside set working hours.

Any emails sent at these times could also be automatically deleted to deter off-duty staff from continually checking their inbox.

"While digital technology has kept us safe during the pandemic, for millions of people, working from home has felt more like sleeping in the office, making it harder to fully switch off," says Prospect's deputy general secretary, Andrew Pakes.

The Office for National Statistics has found that 35.9% of the UK's employed population did at least some of their work from home last year.

This group - while saving time on commuting - did an average of six hours' unpaid overtime each week, it adds.

The right to disconnect has been law for four years in France, where companies are asked to set agreed "specific hours" for "teleworkers".

Ireland also brought in a code of practice last month, under which employers should add "footers and pop-up messages to remind employees... that there is no requirement to reply to emails out of hours".

Prospect, whose members include managers, civil servants, engineers and scientists, wants the UK government to set out similar protections in its Employment Bill, expected to be published later this year.

"Burning people out isn't good for workers or employers," says Claire. "We've got to give people time to switch off and recharge."

On the laptop before breakfast

Bank worker Omar says no-one he knows believes they can be as productive working from home as they can in the office, where they have access to big screens, technology and interacting with colleagues.

And at home, he found, work takes over your life.

"You're on your laptop before breakfast," he says. "When you're in the office there's the journey in, buying a coffee, chatting to a colleague and sitting down at your desk at 8.30 or 9am."

But companies and lawyers have raised doubts over whether the right to disconnect is feasible at a time when many employees are themselves asking for flexible working.

Peter Cheese, chief executive of the Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development, says it would be "very challenging" to make Prospect's proposal work.

"The big question is how do we create good ways of working that are good for people's wellbeing and how you improve people's work-life balance," he adds.

Respecting boundaries


The official advice across the UK currently is for people to work at home wherever possible.

To preserve wellbeing, the Mental Health Foundation recommends that bosses stay in daily contact with employees.

However, it says they must "respect the boundaries people have between work and home life".

"We recognise this has been an exceptionally difficult year, and that the pandemic has had an impact on mental health," a Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy spokesperson says.

"We are wholeheartedly committed to improving and upholding workers' rights and this is why we will fulfil a [Conservative Party] manifesto commitment to consult on making flexible work the default."

The government's Flexible Working Taskforce is investigating how "hybrid" work - split between home and the office/formal workplace - will operate after the pandemic.

This includes looking at the right to disconnect.

Newsletter

Related Articles

Beautiful Virgin Islands
0:00
0:00
Close
Deputy attorney general's second day of meeting with Ghislaine Maxwell has concluded
Controversial March in Switzerland Features Men Dressed in Nazi Uniforms
Politics is a good business: Barack Obama’s Reported Net Worth Growth, 1990–2025
Thai Civilian Death Toll Rises to 12 in Cambodian Cross-Border Attacks
TSUNAMI: Trump Just Crossed the Rubicon—And There’s No Turning Back
Over 120 Criminal Cases Dismissed in Boston Amid Public Defender Shortage
UN's Top Court Declares Environmental Protection a Legal Obligation Under International Law
"Crazy Thing": OpenAI's Sam Altman Warns Of AI Voice Fraud Crisis In Banking
The Podcaster Who Accidentally Revealed He Earns Over $10 Million a Year
Trump Announces $550 Billion Japanese Investment and New Trade Agreements with Indonesia and the Philippines
US Treasury Secretary Calls for Institutional Review of Federal Reserve Amid AI‑Driven Growth Expectations
UK Government Considers Dropping Demand for Apple Encryption Backdoor
Severe Flooding in South Korea Claims Lives Amid Ongoing Rescue Operations
Japanese Man Discovers Family Connection Through DNA Testing After Decades of Separation
Russia Signals Openness to Ukraine Peace Talks Amid Escalating Drone Warfare
Switzerland Implements Ban on Mammography Screening
Japanese Prime Minister Vows to Stay After Coalition Loses Upper House Majority
Pogacar Extends Dominance with Stage Fifteen Triumph at Tour de France
CEO Resigns Amid Controversy Over Relationship with HR Executive
Man Dies After Being Pulled Into MRI Machine Due to Metal Chain in New York Clinic
NVIDIA Achieves $4 Trillion Valuation Amid AI Demand
US Revokes Visas of Brazilian Corrupted Judges Amid Fake Bolsonaro Investigation
U.S. Congress Approves Rescissions Act Cutting Federal Funding for NPR and PBS
North Korea Restricts Foreign Tourist Access to New Seaside Resort
Brazil's Supreme Court Imposes Radical Restrictions on Former President Bolsonaro
Centrist Criticism of von der Leyen Resurfaces as she Survives EU Confidence Vote
Judge Criticizes DOJ Over Secrecy in Dropping Charges Against Gang Leader
Apple Closes $16.5 Billion Tax Dispute With Ireland
Von der Leyen Faces Setback Over €2 Trillion EU Budget Proposal
UK and Germany Collaborate on Global Military Equipment Sales
Trump Plans Over 10% Tariffs on African and Caribbean Nations
Flying Taxi CEO Reclaims Billionaire Status After Stock Surge
Epstein Files Deepen Republican Party Divide
Zuckerberg Faces $8 Billion Privacy Lawsuit From Meta Shareholders
FIFA Pressured to Rethink World Cup Calendar Due to Climate Change
SpaceX Nears $400 Billion Valuation With New Share Sale
Microsoft, US Lab to Use AI for Faster Nuclear Plant Licensing
Trump Walks Back Talk of Firing Fed Chair Jerome Powell
Zelensky Reshuffles Cabinet to Win Support at Home and in Washington
"Can You Hit Moscow?" Trump Asked Zelensky To Make Putin "Feel The Pain"
Irish Tech Worker Detained 100 days by US Authorities for Overstaying Visa
Dimon Warns on Fed Independence as Trump Administration Eyes Powell’s Succession
Church of England Removes 1991 Sexuality Guidelines from Clergy Selection
Superman Franchise Achieves Success with Latest Release
Hungary's Viktor Orban Rejects Agreements on Illegal Migration
Jeff Bezos Considers Purchasing Condé Nast as a Wedding Gift
Ghislaine Maxwell Says She’s Ready to Testify Before Congress on Epstein’s Criminal Empire
Bal des Pompiers: A Celebration of Community and Firefighter Culture in France
FBI Chief Kash Patel Denies Resignation Speculations Amid Epstein List Controversy
Air India Pilot’s Mental Health Records Under Scrutiny
×