'No Work Calls After Office Hours': Right To Disconnect Bill Explained

NCP MP Supriya Sule on Friday introduced the Right to Disconnect Bill, 2025, in the Lok Sabha, seeking to give employees the legal right to refuse work-related calls, messages and emails outside official working hours and on holidays.

The Lok Sabha member's bill was tabled during a packed winter session that began on December 1, even as Parliament meets under the shadow of the ongoing Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of voter rolls in 12 states.

Introduced three forward-looking Private Member Bills in the Parliament:

The Paternity and Paternal Benefits Bill, 2025, introduces paid paternal leave to ensure fathers have the legal right to take part in their child's early development. It breaks the traditional model,… pic.twitter.com/YjrWw4LFwf

— Supriya Sule (@supriya_sule) December 5, 2025

What Is The Right To Disconnect Bill, 2025?

The bill says employees should not be compelled to respond to official communication after work hours or on holidays. It grants every worker the right to refuse calls and emails, without fear of disciplinary action.

Provisions include:

• Employees are not obliged to answer work calls, emails, or messages after hours.
• No employee can face disciplinary action for refusing to respond.
• The right applies to all forms of communication like phone calls, texts, emails, video calls, etc.
• Employers and employees must mutually agree on emergency contact rules, if needed.

The proposal also suggests a penalty of 1 per cent of the total employee remuneration for organisations that violate this right.

Emergency Rules 

While protecting employees' personal time, the bill also proposes a mechanism to address genuine emergencies. It calls for the establishment of a committee to frame mutually agreed-upon terms for contacting employees outside working hours.

Employers may reach out through any form of communication during timings that are pre-negotiated and agreed upon by both sides. The bill also says that if employees choose to work beyond office hours, they should be entitled to overtime pay at the normal wage rate.

Why The Bill Is Needed

The accompanying statement argues that digital tools, while improving flexibility, have created a culture of constant availability. The bill cites research linking this to:

• Sleep deprivation.
• Stress and emotional exhaustion.
• Telepressure, the pressure to respond immediately
• “Info-obesity”, caused by constant monitoring of work messages.

Sule first introduced a similar proposal in 2019. The updated bill reflects renewed concern about workers' well-being as digital communication intensifies. India currently follows a 48-hour work week, one of the more demanding globally.