Right to disconnect: going from compliance to culture
27 Nov 2025
As the year-end festivities approach, many employees are looking forward to enjoying their Christmas turkey without interruption from work emails or calls. As the same time, two years after embedding a policy on the right to disconnect became a real obligation for employers, recent research shows that 60% of Flemish employees still receive a lot of communication outside working hours, despite 87% of them valuing the right to disconnect. It's therefore the ideal time to revisit your company’s approach to the right to disconnect.
Legal framework in a nutshell
The right to disconnect was introduced in Belgian law by the 2022 Labour Deal. This legislation built upon 2018 legislation which only established a right to social dialogue on the topic. Since 1 April 2023, companies with 20 or more employees are required to formalise disconnection arrangements in a collective bargaining agreement or their work regulations. If a sectoral collective bargaining agreement is in place, the obligation for the individual employer to draw up a company specific arrangement no longer applies, although it’s still advisable to do so for reasons of clarity and alignment with the company’s own specific way of working.
Why the right to disconnect is more than a box-ticking exercise
Although the legal obligation is now well established, a recent survey* shows that more than half of employees in Flanders still receive work related messages in the evening, during weekends or while on leave, even though most of them consider the right to disconnect important. The gap between the legal framework and daily practice illustrates that a purely formal approach is not enough. A short clause in the work regulations will not change behaviour if the unwritten expectations in the organisation point in another direction.
There is also a clear link with psychosocial risk management. A culture of permanent availability can result in stress and burnout. By contrast, clear boundaries, predictable rest and a shared understanding of when something is truly urgent support productivity, engagement and retention. Framing the right to disconnect as part of a broader wellbeing strategy, aligned with your policies on e.g. telework or flexible working schedules will help secure buy in from leadership and staff.
For companies that compete for scarce talent, this is a strategic issue as well. Candidates increasingly ask concrete questions about wellbeing, hybrid working and availability outside office hours. A credible disconnect policy can therefore be part of what makes an organisation an employer of choice.
From paper to practice: making disconnection work
It all starts with the policy itself; it should describe in accessible language when workers are not expected to read or respond to emails, messages or calls and have clear guidelines on how to use digital tools in a way that safeguards rest and private life. Technology can be leveraged to put these principles in practice. Companies can deploy measures such as delayed sending of emails, server or notification settings that reduce after hours contacts, and push the use of automatic out-of-office messages with clear information on availability and back up contacts. Simpler measures can also be implemented. For example, including default wording in the email footer stating that the sender does not expect a response outside of the recipient’s working hours can help alleviate employees’ perceived obligation to respond quickly to every email.
Ultimately, the effectiveness of any policy on the right to disconnect depends on culture and leadership behaviour. If managers routinely send late night messages or schedule meetings very early or very late, workers will often feel pressure to be available, even if the policy says the opposite. Leaders therefore need to set the tone by consciously modelling healthy digital habits. This also means having explicit conversations within teams about expectations, preferences and the different ways in which people separate or integrate work and private life. Clear agreements reduce the unspoken pressure to be always available.
Key takeaways
Organisations should view disconnection not merely as a legal requirement but as an investment in employee wellbeing and employer attractiveness. By establishing clear policies, leveraging appropriate technologies, fostering a culture of respect for boundaries and ensuring leadership sets the right example, companies can create an environment where employees genuinely disconnect during rest periods.
If you are looking for guidance on how draft an actionable right to disconnect policy or update your current one, don’t hesitate to get in touch; we’d love the hear from you!
