A new report claims British workers are battling an “epidemic of hidden overtime” and urges lawmakers to consider the introduction of “right to disconnect” legislation.

Research conducted by Autonomy thinktank revealed that remote working practices since the onset of the coronavirus pandemic have exacerbated the issue of overworking, with employees across the country doing more unpaid overtime than ever before.

This culture of overworking is negatively impacting physical and mental health for workers, the study found, and the issue is disproportionately affecting women.

A previous study conducted by Autonomy, Compass and the Four Day Week Campaign found that “at all stages of the crisis” the negative health impacts of overworking have been experienced acutely by women.

“The study found that women are 43% more likely to have increased their hours beyond a standard working week than men, and for those with children, this was even more clearly associated with mental distress,” the report states.

Employment Reforms

To combat the overtime epidemic, Autonomy has called on the creation of new “right to disconnect” laws that would act in a similar fashion to legislation already granted to French workers.

French right to disconnect laws say workers aren’t obligated to keep up with – or respond to – work-related correspondence during personal time.

The thinktank suggested similar rules could be introduced for British workers through tweaks to the Employment Rights Act (1996).

Under these proposals, employers would be prohibited from requiring workers to “monitor or respond to any work-related communications, or to carry out any work, outside the worker’s agreed working hours”.

Autonomy’s Director of Research, Will Stronge, said the pandemic has accelerated the need to create “much clearer boundaries” between work-life and personal time.

“By enshrining a right to disconnect in British law, workers will be able to take back some control of their lives,” he said.

“British workers put in longer full-time hours than most of Europe, and action is needed at the level of government to address these fundamentally unsustainable working conditions,” Stronge added.

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Earlier this year, Prospect trade union called for the inclusion of a right to disconnect policy in the UK Government’s Employment Bill.

Polling conducted by Opinium on behalf of the trade union found that two-thirds of home workers across Britain back right to disconnect proposals.

Our latest research revealed that 32% of remote workers are finding it hard to fully switch off from work 💻

If you’re not working you shouldn’t be tied to your devices or worrying about work. We need a legal #RightToDisconnect: https://t.co/Pft5SeLDdQ #HybridWorking pic.twitter.com/VCka2X5BEl

— Prospect Union (@ProspectUnion) April 13, 2021

Around 30% of respondents revealed they had worked more unpaid hours since the introduction of remote working policies last year, which has worsened their mental health.

Nearly half of workers also said their mental health deteriorated partly due to their inability to ‘switch off’ from work.

Angela Rayner MP, Shadow Secretary for the Future of Work, said the right to disconnect must be introduced as, at present, workers are expected to “compromise their families, responsibilities or hobbies” to meet employer expectations.

“It’s not a sustainable way to run an economy,” she said. “Many good businesses want to see these sorts of protections guaranteed to workers across the board.”

“It is only fair that workers are able to establish healthy boundaries, switching off and disconnecting from work outside of working hours,” Rayner added.