A few days before your vacation you only have one fear: that your boss will call you on vacation. Rest days are required by law and, despite what many managers or owners think, they cannot contact you at all. If you are one of those who hate receiving calls or emails, pay attention to your right as a worker.
Digital disconnection is a right that all workers have to avoid having to connect to any device that is related to work. They also will not have to respond to calls, messages, emails, video calls or any other type of communication.
In addition, the mobile can be turned off at the end of each working day. Everything that is outside of working hours, the boss cannot demand contact with his employees. In addition, if it is not complied with, the worker has the right not to respond until the next day he starts his day.
The objective of this unknown right is to ensure that workers comply with their rest and vacation times. In this way, intrusion into the personal and family sphere is avoided, as well as digital privacy outside working hours. Not only is it necessary on vacation, but the constant connection causes stress and anxiety related to work.
The law requires it
The right to digital disconnection is regulated in Spain by different laws. However, all of them have their origin in the Organic Law on Protection of Personal Data and guarantee of digital rights. In Article 88 we can read:
“Public workers and employees will have the right to digital disconnection in order to guarantee, outside of legally or conventionally established work time, respect for their rest time, permits and vacations, as well as their personal and family privacy.”
Apart from the LOPDGDD, the Workers’ Statute also regulates the right to digital disconnection; specifically in its Article 20 bis:
“Workers have the right to privacy in the use of digital devices made available to them by the employer, to digital disconnection and to privacy in the use of video surveillance and geolocation devices under the terms established in the current legislation on protection of personal data and guarantee of digital rights.”
When does it apply?
Can I avoid calls from my boss during working hours? No. The right to digital disconnection applies when the daily working day ends and during the vacation period. So if we work from 9 a.m. to 2 p.m., we can disconnect all kinds of contact between 2 p.m. and 9 a.m. the next day.
The same goes for vacations, even if you’re a department manager. Higher-ranking positions also avail themselves of this right. It will be the company’s problem to solve any inconvenience during the absence of a worker.
However, there are exceptions if the worker has signed an availability agreement. This forces you to be connected at any time to attend to the employer, even outside working hours. These periods must be limited to special hours, such as non-contact guards. And it must always be accepted by both parties. In addition, in these cases the worker has to charge an extra.
The person in charge of ensuring that the right to digital disconnection at work is fulfilled is the employer or boss. Every company must have an internal policy that embraces the legal rights of workers. Therefore, it will not be possible to fire or penalize anyone who does not answer calls or work emails during vacations. In the event that the company does not respect this right, a Labor Inspectorate can penalize it with fines of up to 225,018 euros.
