Wydział Prawa i Administracji Uniwersytet Warszawski

Wydziału Prawa i Administracji
Uniwersytetu Warszawskiego

zaprasza na

wykład otwarty pt. "The Right to Disconnect: Hint of autonomy or emblem of orthodoxy?", 
który poprowadzi prof. David Mangan z Osgoode Hall Law School – York University.

Spotkanie odbędzie się w języku angielskim
w dniu 17 grudnia 2024 r. o godz. 16:45
w Collegium Iuridicum I, sala 117.

Wstęp jest wolny,
z pierwszeństwem dla doktorantów i doktorantek UW.

Wizyta prof. Mangana finansowana jest
przez Narodową Agencję Wymiany Akademickiej w ramach Programu STER.

Zarys wystąpienia:

The right to disconnect is an emblem of orthodoxy (with some progressive tropes) that only reinforces existing boundaries. This contention is explored by analysing the existing and proposed laws on the right to disconnect, in several jurisdictions ranging from Continental Europe to Australia, to determine what (if any) legal entitlement workers have to a sui generis employment claim for the right to disconnect.    

In Europe, the right to disconnect has gained momentum with the European Law Institute offering its report on guiding principles for the right (2023), as well as the EU Commissioner for Jobs and Social Rights’ (Nicolas Schmit) commitment (12 December 2023) to legislate on the matter. Development of a right to disconnect, however, seems to be uniquely Continental European; though it is not necessarily an enforceable right. We might say there is a transatlantic divide where: the US does not have a right; only the Canadian province of Ontario has a requirement for employers to have a policy, without a legal entitlement to disconnect; the UK government has proposed to create a "right to switch off"; and Ireland only has a code of conduct, which is not legally enforceable. Australia stands out as a rare example of a jurisdiction establishing an enforceable right to disconnect. 

Generally, the right to disconnect has been recognized as a discrete ‘right’ which is then inserted into an existing framework (i.e. employment’s well-entrenched concept of subordination). This pattern sets up the right to fall short of facilitating the freedom from an always on culture suggested by the concept. The following observations are noted about the right as it is currently constructed. The right to disconnect revolves around the centrality of work, and the hierarchical work relationship therein. This singular construction of the right offers only limited disconnection; that is, only a time free from an obligation to act when contacted outside of normal working hours. The right only about protects employees from punishment when they do not respond to persistent contact from work outside of normal work hours. Disconnection is a remarkably narrow form of workplace protection. It is not a right that totally disconnects the individual employee from the employment relationship.