Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) Member of Parliament (MP) Supriya Sule introduced the Right to Disconnect Bill, 2025, in the Lok Sabha on Friday
The bill aims to provide employees with the legal freedom to refuse work-related calls, messages, and emails outside of official working hours and on vacations.
The Lok Sabha member's bill was introduced during a jam-packed winter session that began on December 1, even though Parliament is now dealing with the ongoing Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of voter records in 12 states, NDTV reports.
According to the bill, employees should not be required to react to official communication after hours or on holidays. It allows any employee to refuse calls and emails without fear of disciplinary action.
Provisions include:
Employees are not obligated to respond to work calls, emails, or messages after hours.
No employee can be disciplined for declining to answer.
The right applies to all types of communication, including phone conversations, messages, emails, and video calls.
Employers and employees must agree on emergency contact procedures if necessary.
The bill also proposes a penalty of one per cent of the total employee salary for organisations that violate this rule.
While protecting employees' personal time, the bill also includes provisions for dealing with genuine emergencies at work. It calls for the formation of a committee to develop mutually acceptable terms for contacting employees outside of working hours.
Employers may contact employees via any means of communication during pre-negotiated and mutually agreed-upon hours. According to the bill, if employees opt to work after office hours, they should be entitled to overtime pay at the standard wage rate.