The Parliament Wants to Allow Employees to Ignore Work Chats on Weekends

The Verkhovna Rada is discussing the idea of legally enshrining the right of employees to not respond to work messages during non-working hours. The relevant norm is included in the draft of the new Civil Code of Ukraine, which introduces the concept of «the right to information peace». This is reported by Judicial and Legal Newspaper.

The document proposes to allow employees not to participate in work, service, or professional communications during non-working hours, on weekends, holidays, during vacations, or outside the time defined by the employment contract. Furthermore, ignoring calls or messages cannot be a reason for disciplinary action, worsening of working conditions, or loss of bonuses.

The Right to Information Peace in the New Civil Code

According to the project, such a right can only be limited in exceptional cases, particularly in the event of threats to national security, public order, human health, or to prevent accidents. In fact, the norm will not apply to medical workers, rescuers, police, and military personnel.

It is also noted that the right to information peace may not apply if otherwise explicitly provided for in the terms of the contract between the employee and the employer.

Work Chats and Risks for Employees

Experts point out that such a contractual condition may become a loophole for employers. As a result, labor agreements may mass-produce clauses about the employee's mandatory availability during non-working hours, which undermines the very idea of information peace.

Currently, Ukrainian legislation partially protects the right to privacy and provides for a «disconnection period» for remote workers. At the same time, the new norm is expected to extend these guarantees to a wider range of workers and establish a boundary between paid working time and personal life.

Earlier we wrote that wages for a shortened workweek depend on the grounds for its establishment.