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The new labour codes have sparked a variety of mixed reactions across India. While many stakeholders welcome the attempt to modernise the labour framework and strengthen wage and social security protections, others remain concerned about cost pressures, implementation challenges, and potential instability in employment conditions.
Several stakeholders have welcomed the sweeping overhaul that replaces older laws with a consolidated framework. A key area of optimism is strengthened wage security and broader social security coverage, which can create long-term stability for employees.
Some changes have also triggered concerns around job stability, especially with trade unions opposing rollout and raising questions on how the transition will play out at the workplace level.
Manufacturers that found older rules restrictive have viewed the reforms as enabling, while smaller firms have expressed worry around increased operating costs that may affect profitability.
It is understood that the Right to Disconnect Bill 2025 was introduced in the Lok Sabha, seeking to grant employees a legal right to refuse work-related calls, messages and emails outside normal working hours and on holidays.
The bill outlines that employees should not be compelled to respond to official communication after completion of working hours or on weekends and other holidays. It allows a worker to decline communication without fear of repercussions.
The stated intent is to safeguard personal time after work. At the same time, a mechanism is envisaged for addressing critical business emergencies. The onus is expected to be placed on an employer-employee committee to agree on conditions for contacting employees outside normal working hours.
The bill also indicates that if employees provide consent to work beyond office hours, they will be entitled to overtime pay at twice the wage rate. This positions overtime as a structured mechanism rather than an informal expectation of constant availability.
The justification offered for the emergence of the bill is the rapid expansion of digital tools and a culture of availability at all times. This has contributed to burnout and a blurred boundary between work and personal time.
The Right to Disconnect Bill, 2025 aims to grant employees the legal right to ignore work-related calls, emails and messages outside working hours, addressing expectations of immediate response after the workday ends.
In contrast, the labour codes allow flexibility in distributing weekly hours within the forty-eight hour limit, potentially enabling extended daily hours such as up to twelve hours in a day depending on state rules and business policy. The codes also enable women to work night shifts subject to safety and security requirements. This contrast is where the debate gains intensity: flexibility for productivity must remain balanced against boundaries that protect personal time and wellbeing.
Kerala’s Right to Disconnect Bill, 2025 has been positioned as a policy development to formally recognise an employee’s right to disconnect from work-related communication outside designated working hours. If enacted, it would place Kerala among the first jurisdictions in India to legislate such a right, aligning with practices adopted in parts of Europe.
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