Review article
https://doi.org/10.3935/zpfz.76.2.5
The Right to Disconnect in the European Union: Why Personal Scope Matters
Kristína Ježová
orcid.org/0009-0009-9919-6288
; Faculty of Law, Comenius University in Bratislava, Bratislava, Slovakia
Abstract
Digitalisation has changed the organisation of work and enabled employees to remain connected regardless of their physical location. While this development increases flexibility, it also blurs the boundary between working time and private life. The right to disconnect has emerged as a legal response to this phenomenon, but it is not yet regulated by EU law. In the absence of a harmonised framework, Member States have adopted different models, some of which limit the right to telework, employer size or workplace-level arrangements. This paper analyses the personal scope of the right to disconnect in selected national legal systems. It argues that the right should be linked to exposure to work-related digital communication outside working time, rather than to formal criteria. The paper also considers the equality dimension of constant availability and proposes a future EU framework.
Keywords
right to disconnect; personal scope; EU labour law; work-life balance; equality
Hrčak ID:
349599
URI
Publication date:
21.7.2026.
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