Contractors, does a new legal ‘right to disconnect’ after a day’s work get your vote?

‘Work-life balance’. It shows up everywhere nowadays, ranging from tech recruiter Hays’s research to the most frequently uttered phrases we hear from people seeking to become a first-timer contractor, writes Andy Chamberlain, policy director at IPSE.

Work-Life balance in the freelance-contractor setting

The ‘Holy Grail’ of work-life balance through the freelance lens is that those who work for themselves can be freed from the rigid working environment that stereotypically denotes employment.

Having an optimum work-life balance means you can choose where, when and with whom you work. Maybe even how much work you actually do.

There’s no ‘boss’ to worry about, no team meetings, no appraisals. Yes, there are deadlines – there’s still a lot of work that needs to be done – but with so much more flexibility afforded to freelancers, the shrewd can schedule work around their other responsibilities and even their hobbies.

Freelancers and contractors are beholden to no one, or is that a myth?

Crucially, when freelancers are working they are beholden to no one.

Their time is their own. As long as they deliver what was agreed at the start of the project, they have met their obligations. While some clients may well want you to be available during hours outside of your normal working day, being self-employed means that you are largely in control.

Compare this to employees who, in some but not all circumstances, may be dealing with a constantly shifting set of responsibilities.

They may work a long day in the office and yet still be expected to take calls and answer emails late in the evening, particularly if something unforeseen has come up, or at time of a big project or heightened workload for their employer.

Dramatic changes to working practices (cheers covid)

That is how it is supposed to work and, in many cases, it probably still does work that way -- but for most of us, things aren't quite so straightforward.

The world of work (both employed and freelance) has changed considerably over the last two-to-three decades. Technology means that we are now reachable all the time and working with clients and colleagues in other time zones can often mean there is an expectation that all workers, whether freelance or employed, should be available well outside the standard 9-to-5.

It's also true that employment, again in many but not all cases, is less rigid than it once was. We’ve got the covid pandemic to thank for that.

The blurring in-work out-of-work boundary

In fact, working from home at least some of the time is now commonplace among employees. Good employers will also seek to enable some degree of flexibility in working hours to accommodate those who have caring responsibilities or other pressures on their time.

Perhaps the trade-off for this loosening of working patterns is an implied requirement to be available outside of agreed working hours.

The boundary between being at work, and not at work, is becoming more blurred.

Australian ‘right to disconnect’ now enshrined in law

This week, the Australian government introduced a “right to disconnect” law.

So since Monday, Australian employees are no longer required to monitor work messages outside of agreed working hours, and they cannot be punished or disadvantaged for not doing so.

There is a caveat that in circumstances when it is deemed “reasonable,” employers do have the right to contact their employees. This ‘reasonableness’ caveat feels destined to be tested in a dispute before too long! But nevertheless, the aim of the law is clear -- employees are entitled to log off when the working day is done and not log back in until the next day starts.

Labour reportedly likes the sounds of a right to disconnect

News reports suggest that the new Labour government here in the UK is preparing to legislate for a similar ‘right to disconnect.’

As with the Australian example, the suggestion is the entitlement would only apply to employees – freelancers, contractors and the self-employed would not fall within the protection.

But there’s growing interest in how these issues affect freelancers too.

What about freelancers and a right to disconnect?

The core driver behind the Australian legislation, and the rules being considered by the UK government, is the mental health and wellbeing of workers.

Arguably freelancers are just as susceptible to stress and burnout as employees (indeed there may be a case for arguing they are more so).

Demanding clients can be, well, demanding, as any experienced contractor knows. Would freelancers also benefit from a right to disconnect? Or are they inherently good at setting boundaries and ensuring their clients don’t expect them to be at their beck and call?

The right to disconnect? Your views please contractors

We at IPSE are hugely interested in this issue.

We want to know whether working for yourself has actually delivered a better Work-Life Balance or whether you feel compelled to be available for your clients at all times, in which case ‘WLB’ may be merely a myth in the self-employed, contractor space; that elusive Holy Grail.

To find out more directly from you, we’ve set up a very short survey which we would be grateful if you would take the time to complete -- it should take less than one minute. And that’s key, we don’t want to cut in on your work-life balance!

But in short, do freelancers want the right to disconnect?

Do they already have that right?

Or is part of being in business on your own account being ‘always on?’

Final thought

Please take a moment to share your views on a ‘right to disconnect’ after a day’s work with us, as we’ll be taking the findings to UK policymakers because there’s a growing sense that Australia might very well be onto something.