Work, how the right to disconnect works in Italy: only provided for by individual bargaining

In Italy, Law No. 81 of 22 May 2017 on measures for the protection of self-employment and measures to encourage flexible articulation of working time and place applies to all public and private companies, as recalled by the Eurofound report 'Right to disconnect: implementation and impact at company level', specifying that the law does not explicitly recognise disconnection as a right, but provides for its regulation by individual bargaining between employer and employee.

'Although there is no specific EU legislation imposing the establishment of an explicit right to disconnection,' analyses Paola de Vita, Adapt contributor, 'legislation at the national level in Europe has evolved significantly in recent years. This reflects the growing relevance of the issue of 'constant connection' in the political debate. The provisions of collective agreements concerning the right to disconnection are also constantly evolving. In Italy,' he points out, 'connection and disconnection arrangements are an integral part of the individual contracts of 'smart' workers and are therefore negotiated between the worker and the employer. Italy was the second EU country to introduce regulations on the right to disconnect through 'agile' work agreements. These agreements should cover the worker's right to rest time and the necessary technical and organisational measures to ensure disconnection from the technological tools used during work (Art. 19(1)). During the pandemic, as part of the health measures taken to prevent the spread of Covid-19, the obligation to negotiate individual contracts for smart working was suspended and the right to disconnect was automatically applied to all workers performing remote activities. This temporary exemption was subsequently revoked on 31 December 2022.

In 2021, two interconfederal agreements for the public and private sector reaffirmed the right to disconnection within flexible and agile working arrangements: the Pact for Public Work Innovation and Social Cohesion and the National Protocol on Agile Work in the Private Sector; the latter sets out the provisions for the implementation of the right to disconnection for employees'.

"In June 2023," he says, "nine Member States had legislation on the right to disconnect (Belgium, Croatia, France, Greece, Italy, Luxembourg, Portugal, Slovakia and Spain). In addition, Ireland adopted a code of conduct in 2021; although it is not a formal law, courts can refer to it when deciding on the merits of a case. Four Member States (Belgium, France, Italy and Spain) had already implemented some provisions with the onset of the pandemic. In 2021, Greece, Portugal and Slovakia adopted legislation providing for the right to disconnect, largely due to the increase in teleworking triggered by the pandemic. New legislation in Croatia was passed in 2022 and in Luxembourg in 2023. In both countries the provisions came into force in 2023'. "Several key features," he explains, "characterise and distinguish the provisions on the right to disconnect in different countries. The most important aspects are the coverage of the regulation (e.g. company size and types of workers affected), the approach to implementation (e.g. direct applicability or via collective agreements) and the presence and nature of sanctions. In seven of the nine countries considered, the regulations cover both the public and private sectors. In some countries, the regulations apply only to teleworkers (Greece and Slovakia) or workers who use information technology to perform their work remotely permanently or occasionally (Luxembourg, Portugal and Spain). In Spain, the legislation applies to all workers, but the law seems particularly applicable to teleworkers on a regular or occasional basis. In Italy, the legislation applies to so-called smart workers who work in a hybrid manner. In Belgium, company size thresholds apply (companies with more than 20 employees) and also in France, but in the latter case the courts and collective agreements have tended to remove the 50-employee threshold'.

"Negotiations between the social partners at company level," de Vita points out, "play a key role in the implementation of the right to disconnect. They ensure that the specific modalities of implementation are adapted to the needs of the workplace, provided that a number of key issues (e.g. training and the definition of how workers can be granted the right to disconnect) are guaranteed. Such social partner negotiations are required in Belgium (in the private sector), France, Luxembourg and Spain. In the event that no agreement is reached, an alternative plan is envisaged. This usually takes the form of a company policy or a statute or similar instrument, the details of which must be communicated to the employees'. Here, then, country by country, is Paola de Vita's comment.