Remote working: Do we need a legal right to disconnect?

The past 18 months have shown us that when it comes to disaster planning for business the biggest risk for many isn’t, surprisingly, something like a global pandemic, but the strength and integrity of their IT systems. The majority of businesses could not have survived the pandemic without remote working – and we have seen a rapid increase in the digitalisation of office working as a consequence. Studies show home-working increased by 30 per cent throughout lockdown. But while remote working and the use of more technology to support it has brought obvious benefits, it has also exacerbated a long-recognised problem: the so-called ‘always on’ culture. We are now starting to see demands for a legal framework.