In Italy there is a longstanding tradition of overlooking the right to disconnect from work and the right does not feature in overall labor regulation. It does however feature in the law that frames smart working (c.f. articles No. 10206 and No. 10886), by which is meant working outside of company premises for one to two days per week. An increasing prevalence of agile work and the growth of technologies enabling remote working has spurred Italy’s social partners to address the ‘disconnect’ topic, and ahead of negotiations to renew national collective conventions, the right to disconnect from work is starting to make an appearance both within company labor agreements and on the trade unions’ demands platforms.
Legal provision. Law 81 of 22 May 2017 defines smart working as a means of undertaking salaried work without working time or workplace constraints that is made possible via the use of technology-based tools, and it intends for the right to disconnect from work within the framework of individually written agreements that companies are required to put in place for each of the employees concerned. Whether smart working derives from HR practice or via agreements struck with trade unions, these individual agreements have to specify, ‘the technical and organizational measures required to ensure the worker disconnects from work-related technology tools.’
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