Kerala has introduced the Right to Disconnect Bill 2025, which grants private sector employees the legal right to stop responding to work-related calls, emails, texts, or meetings outside of their designated office hours.
India’s first state-level initiative has the potential to change workplace culture, following international models set by France, Spain, Italy, Germany, and Belgium.
The proposed law allows employees to ignore digital communications sent after work hours without worrying about facing penalties, demotion, or termination, and for logging off after their scheduled workweek is over.
The bill aims to strengthen the law’s implementation by establishing a Private Sector Employment Grievance Redressal Committee in every district.
The committee will be chaired by the regional joint labour commissioner, with assistance from the deputy labour commissioner and the district labour officer, The Times of India reported.
What does it mean to employees?
Kerala is the first Indian state to propose such legislation to protect individual time and combat the growing ‘always being on call’ mentality in digital workplaces.
The bill, according to lawmakers, is intended to give employees a better work-life balance, recognising that modern employment frequently extends into the evenings, nights, and weekends.
The law summary states that firm agreements will establish the official workday and that employees may stop communicating about work-related matters beyond certain hours.
Furthermore, the bill could mitigate stress for both business travellers and vacationers.
The new regulations prohibit work-related communications from interfering with personal time, such as vacations or breaks, allowing workers to relax and rejuvenate stress-free.
As a result, employees will be able to rest, enjoy the freedom they truly desire, and return to work feeling more motivated, focused, and productive, which will certainly contribute to the development of a better workplace culture where personal time is valued equally.
The Right to Disconnect bill now moves through the legislative process in Kerala and calls for awareness programs, employer compliance frameworks, and hourly clarification.
Among other countries, France, Spain, Italy, Germany and Belgium already have similar laws in place.