Right to Disconnect Bill, 2025 | 06 Dec 2025

Source: IE

A private member’s bill(PMB) titled the Right to Disconnect Bill 2025, was introduced in the Lok Sabha, it seeks to legally protect employees from after-hour work demands and reinforce healthy work–life boundaries. 

• Key Provisions:  The Bill proposes an Employees’ Welfare Authority to enforce the right to disconnect, conduct baseline studies, and negotiate terms on after-hour engagement for companies with over 10 workers. 
  • Employees refusing after-hours communication cannot face disciplinary action, and employers must pay overtime wages if work is assigned beyond fixed hours. 
  • The Bill calls for counselling services and the creation of digital detox centres to address mental-health impacts like telepressure, stress, and “info-obesity.” 
• Global Parallel: Nations like France, Portugal, and Australia have already enacted similar rights, indicating international recognition of employee wellbeing. 
• Private Member’s Bill: PMB is a proposed law introduced in the legislature by a Member of Parliament (MP) who is not a Minister. 
  • In the Indian parliamentary system, any MP, whether from the ruling party or the opposition, is considered a "Private Member" if they do not hold a ministerial portfolio. 
  • Private Members’ Bills, which are taken up on Fridays when Parliament is in session, seldom make it to passage. 
  • Since Independence, only 14 PMBs have been passed by both Houses and received Presidential assent. No PMB has passed both Houses since 1970.