From next month, federal civil servants no longer have to be reachable after normal working hours, as they will be given the "right to disconnect."
Summary
- Photo by Ron Lach from PexelsFrom 1 February, federal civil servants will no longer have to answer phone calls from their boss after normal working hours, a circular from Minister of Civil Service Petra De Sutter states.
- De Sutter emphasised the so-called “right to disconnect” – the right to be unreachable – of federal civil servants in her circular, according to reports in De Morgen, which saw the letter.
- “The computer stays on, you keep reading the e-mails you receive on your smartphone… To better protect people against this, we now give them the legal right to disconnect,” she said.
- ‘Exceptional and unforeseen circumstances’The circular states that a manager may still call an employee after normal working hours in “exceptional and unforeseen circumstances,” although these have not been made explicitly clear.
- “After advice from the social partners, a proposal should be discussed, alongside the four-day work week and regulations for evening work,” he said.