The suspension of activities after the end of the workday, without answering emails or messages via WhatsApp, has gained strength among Brazilian professionals.
A survey carried out by the company DataLawyer points to an increase in labor lawsuits that cite terms such as “right to disconnect”, “disconnect from work” or “disconnect from work”. There were 2,600 actions on the subject in 2022, compared to 1,300 in 2018, an increase of 100.6%
“The right to ‘digital disconnect’ is a guarantee of preserving the employee’s privacy, dignity and physical and mental integrity”, explains Fabiana Trovó de Paula, a lawyer specializing in labor law at Morad Advocacia Empresarial. “It is the employee’s right not to have to respond to emails, messages and phone calls after finishing the journey, except in exceptional cases.”
According to Paula, the mandatory social distance resulting from the Covid-19 crisis contributed to the advancement of lawsuits from the second half of 2020. Before that, there was no comprehensive business culture about what could or could not be done at home office .
“The pandemic has forced companies to use this work model more and, as a result, the consequences and losses arising from excessive activities after the closure of tasks are now emerging and being repaired in court,” he says.
Right to disconnect
According to the lawyer, there is no specific legislation on the subject in Brazil, but the CLT, when dealing with remote production, mentions that “there is no distinction between work carried out at the employer’s establishment, work carried out at the employee’s home and work carried out distance, provided that the assumptions of the employment relationship are characterized”.
Even so, says Paula, there is no need to apply or create a new law on the subject because the right to disconnect is rooted in the fundamental guarantees to health and leisure, supported by the Constitution. “Work is considered the means to promote subsistence and satisfy personal needs and desires, without jeopardizing rest and family and social life”, she says.
The specialist recalls that other countries have advanced in the legal protection of employees after the end of the stop. France passed a law in 2017 obliging companies with more than 50 employees to specify times when it is not necessary to read or respond to emails and messages. In 2021, Portugal adopted a measure for employers to refrain from contacting the worker during the rest period, except in situations of force majeure. Last year, Belgium followed the same path, in order to shield civil servants.
Labor lawsuits
Faced with the escalation of complaints and the losses to which organizations are subject – DataLawyer estimates that the issue has already led to 23,700 lawsuits in the Labor Court since 2014, with the total value of claims reaching R$ 5.6 billion, of which much of it to pay for overtime. The lawyer recommends that managers pay greater attention to the limits of working hours.
“It is fundamental that the boards apply the legislation with regard to working hours and rest periods, and ensure the physical and mental health of employees”, says Paula.
According to her, when the worker’s need to disconnect is ignored, the company is predisposed to be sued in court.
With information from Valor Econômico