The federal government is looking to establish workers’ legal right to disconnect from work under Budget 2024.
The government is proposing to amend the Canada Labour Code (CLC) to require employers in federally regulated sectors to establish a right to disconnect policy that would limit work-related communication outside of scheduled working hours.
“Everyone needs some downtime; it is essential for well-being and mental health. As the nature of work in many industries has become increasingly digital, workers are finding it increasingly difficult to disconnect from their devices and inboxes after hours and on weekends,” according to Budget 2024. “This has particularly impacted Millennial and Gen Z workers, many of whom have worked their whole careers without firm separation between work and personal time.”
