“Log Out After 6 PM”: Supriya Sule Tables India’s First Right to Disconnect Bill

The Increasing Crisis of Workplace Stress.

In India, the workplace has been changed drastically over the past decade. Office time and personal time have become indistinguishable with the influx of the smartphone and high-speed internet. Workers are now supposed to be 24/7 to respond to e-mails, text messages, and video calls. Such an incessant connectivity has created a phenomenon called always-on culture in which rest is a luxury and not a necessity. Telepressure, as it is commonly known, is the demand to act on the spot which has led to the development of serious mental health problems in millions of workers.

This boundarylessness has led to the sharp increase in burnout, anxiety, and sleep disorders among the workforce. Most of the employees feel guilty when they fail to respond to the message of a manager at an early time in the night or on a family vacation. The unwritten law in most companies is that commitment is gauged by availability, irrespective of the hours of work even though they are not working. This is a toxic environment that does not only harm the person but also decreases productivity in the long-run to the company. Having realized this important matter, Member of Parliament Supriya Sule has made one important step towards ensuring the legal protection of the personal time of Indian employees.

An Employee Well-being Legislative Shield.

Supriya Sule of the Nationalist Congress Party (SP) proposed the bill of the right to disconnect, Right to Disconnect Bill, 2025 in the Lok Sabha. In this attempt, this is a brave move of a bill by the private member to grant employees the legal authority to disregard communication on work matters after their shift. According to the bill, no employee is to be disciplined and punished due to his or her refusal to answer the calls or emails during the time which is not covered by the working hours agreed upon with the current employer. It seeks to enable the workers to be able to say no to unreasonable requests without fear of being fired or derailing in their professional development.

The proposed legislation is holistic and considers the issue in various perspectives to have effective implementation. It requires that an Employees Welfare Authority be established to supervise the implementation of these new rights. This authority would be tasked with publication of studies and data concerning the use of digital tools by employees outside of work. The bill will make the right to disconnect more than a mere piece of paper because it has its own body that will make the concept a reality experienced by the workforce. It is concerned with the development of the structural change as opposed to merely providing advisory services to companies.

Important Provisions and Financial Fines.

Among the most prominent aspects of the bill is the proposal of punishment against non-compliance. Whose companies do not take into account the right to disconnect, the companies may be fined up to one percent of the total remuneration of the staff. This is an economic discouragement to ensure that corporations take the law seriously and restructure their internal policies to fit. It also transfers the burden of the individual employee to the organization, whereby the management will have to plan more and keep time limits.

Another problem that is dealt with in the bill is the problem of unpaid labor which has become rife during the digital era. According to it, in case employee agrees to work beyond his/her regular time, he/she should be paid during the times of overtime. This is because under this provision, any additional work will be acknowledged and compensated, instead of being taken as a non-formal anticipation. The bill is an attempt to deter nonessential interruptions by assigning a financial penalty to the after-hours communication. Managers would not probably risk to send a non-urgent email at the expense of the company and accrue overtime.

Moreover, the bill is not only a statement of the rights but also a consideration of the complete welfare of the staff. It suggests that the companies and the government collaborate in offering counseling services. The services would guide the employees through the stress of the digital world and establish a healthy balance. The bill even proposes to establish the so-called digital detox centers, the place where people can unplug on full. This progressive solution is an acceptance of the fact that technology addiction is a fact which needs the structural support in order to be overcome.

International Precedents and the Indian Environment.

India is not the first nation to think of such a legislation since many nations have already acknowledged the risks of hyper-connectivity. Such laws as a right to disconnect have been effectively adopted in countries such as France, Spain, and Portugal in recent years. Australia is not an exception, and recently gave its employees the right to refuse unreasonable after-hours contact. These are global examples of how productivity does not decline when workers are allowed to take a break but Emily, on the contrary, it tends to rise.

Nevertheless, making it in India presents some cultural challenges, as well as, its share of difficulties. The Indian business world is very competitive, and the culture of long working hours is associated with the notion that one works hard indeed. The IT sector is one of the many service-based industries that deal with clients across time zones, hence necessitating late-night availability. This is because critics claim that a rigid law may affect the adaptability some businesses require to survive in a global market. This is what the bill tries to resolve because it enables the companies to agree to certain conditions with their employees and does not impose the general ban.

In spite of taking these challenges, the debate initiated by this bill is crucial in the future of the Indian workforce. A recent tragic death of a young professional in one of the leading audit companies after claiming to be overworked has sparked a country wide debate. It has caused the leaders in the government and the private sector to re-examine the human price of economic growth. The Right to Disconnect Bill can be viewed as a wake-up call that the existing trend of employee exploitation cannot be sustained. 

The Path Forward for the Bill

One should realize that this is a Private Member Bill, unlike a bill that has been introduced by the government. There has been very little passing of the Parliament of privately member bills into law. These bills are often discussed to bring out an issue, and the government can subsequently come up with its own version of the law. Nevertheless, the presentation of this bill puts the problem squarely on the agenda of parliament.