Supriya Sule, Lok Sabha MP from the Nationalist Congress Party (Sharadchandra Pawar), introduced a private member’s bill in the lower house on Friday seeking legal right for employees to ignore work-related calls and emails beyond office hours.
The bill, named Right to Disconnect Bill, 2025, was tabled in the Parliament on Friday and seeks establishment of an employees’ welfare authority to protect their right, if granted, of not being legally bound to entertain work-related electronic commnunication after office hours or on holidays.
What is Right to Disconnect Bill, 2025
The Right to Disconnect Bill, 2025, a private member’s bill introduced by the NCP MP, proposes to “establish employees’ welfare authority to confer the right on every employee to disconnect from work-related telephone calls and emails beyond work hours and on holidays”.
According to Sule, who shared a clip of her tabling the bill on X (previously Twitter), it “fosters a better quality of life and a healthier work-life balance by reducing the burnout caused by today’s digital culture.”
The bill was introduced on the fifth day of Parliament’s winter session which started on December 1. Along with this bill, Sule also introduced two other private member’s bills- Paternity and Paternal Benefits Bill, 2025 which “introduces paid paternal leave to ensure fathers have the legal right to take part in their child’s early development” and the Code on Social Security (Amendment) Bill, 2025, which “recognises platform-based gig workers as a distinct category, ensuring minimum wages, regulated hours, social security, fair conditions, and equitable contracts to ensure a fairer, more sustainable environment and economy for them.”
Other bill on employee welfare
On Friday, Congress MP Shashi Tharoor also introduced a private member’s bill to ensure welfare of employees by avoiding burnout and seeks to amend the Occupational Safety, Health and Working Conditions Code, 2020.
Also read: Shashi Tharoor introduces bill to criminalise marital rape: ‘Marriage cannot negate right’
“With 51% of India’s workforce clocking over 49 hrs/week and 78% experiencing burnout, tragically exemplified by the death of young Anna Sebastian Perayil, it is clear that overwork is harming our professionals’ physical and mental health. The Bill seeks to limit working hours, legally secure the Right to Disconnect, and establish robust grievance and mental-health support systems to promote a healthier, more sustainable workforce,” Tharoor said in a post on X.
Will the Right to Disconnect Bill, 2025 pass?
The Right to Disconnect Bill, 2025 is a private member’s bill. A private member’s bill is a bill introduced by a member of the Parliament other than a minister, whereas, a bill introduced by a minister is called a government bill.
However, private member’s bills rarely become law and are usually withdrawn after the government responds.
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