Ireland : Financial Services Union calls for legislation on the right to disconnect

The Financial Services Union called on 10 October – on World Mental Health Day – for a law that would grant workers the right to disconnect. The union for workers in the financial services sector, says such a law should specify that “workers should not be obliged to answer calls or reply to emails, or engage in any work-related activity outside of paid working hours”. The call from the FSU comes after talks in September between the union and Ireland’s Minister for Business, Enterprise, and Innovation, Heather Humphreys. When first asked about the matter, the minister replied that a study is being conducted to assess the situation and that the results thereof would be released by the government by the end of this year. The union, which has 15,000 members in Ireland and the UK, has taken its stance following an investigation conducted in partnership with the University of Limerick on the impact of technology on employees (accessible here), which involved some 2,000 participants. One out of every four respondents said their superiors would rely on them responding to emails and work-related calls outside of their working hours.