New Delhi: Lok Sabha MP Supriya Sule has introduced a private member’s bill aimed at securing a healthier work-life balance for India’s workforce by granting employees the legal right to disconnect from work-related digital communication after office hours.
Titled The Right to Disconnect Bill, 2025, the proposal seeks to penalise companies and societies that violate its provisions with sanctions amounting to 1 per cent of the total remuneration paid to their employees. The bill was tabled in the Lower House on Friday.
Sule argued that the growing dependence on digital communication has blurred boundaries between personal and professional life, creating a culture of constant availability. Writing on X, she said the bill is designed to reduce “burnout caused by today’s digital culture” and to protect workers from the mental and emotional toll of round-the-clock work expectations.
The statement of objects and reasons highlights studies showing that employees expected to remain constantly reachable face heightened risks of sleep deprivation, stress, and emotional exhaustion. It cites the phenomenon of “telepressure” — the compulsion to respond instantly to work emails and calls — as a major factor behind deteriorating work-life balance. The bill also references the rising concern of “info-obesity,” a condition linked to excessive monitoring of digital communication.
The proposed legislation asserts that employees must be allowed to disconnect from emails, messages, and calls outside designated working hours, unless they have negotiated terms that permit after-hours engagement. In such cases, the bill calls for mandatory overtime pay at the employee’s regular wage rate to curb unpaid extended work driven by digital tools.
The bill further recommends counselling services to educate workers and citizens on balanced use of digital communication and proposes the creation of digital detox centres to help individuals reduce dependence on technology.
Sule stressed that the bill balances employee rights with the operational needs of companies by allowing flexibility for organisations to negotiate out-of-hours expectations directly with their workforce.
Alongside the Right to Disconnect Bill, Sule introduced two additional private member bills: The Paternity and Paternal Benefits Bill, 2025, which proposes paid paternal leave to promote equitable parenting, and The Code on Social Security (Amendment) Bill, 2025, seeking to formally recognise gig and platform workers as a separate category entitled to minimum wages, social security, regulated work hours, and fair contractual conditions.
Several other MPs also presented private member bills during the session.
