Supriya Sule Reintroduces ‘Right to Disconnect’ Bill, Proposes Legal Freedom to Ignore Work Calls After Hours
NCP–SP MP Supriya Sule has once again pushed for stronger work-life balance norms by reintroducing the Right to Disconnect Bill, 2025 in the Lok Sabha during the winter session. The Bill seeks to legally allow employees to ignore work-related calls, messages and emails beyond official working hours without facing any disciplinary action.
Sule, citing global studies and workplace trends, highlighted that constant digital engagement with office communication is harming employees’ mental and physical well-being. She noted that excessive monitoring of emails and work messages can overload the brain, leading to what experts call “info-obesity”. The Bill argues that uninterrupted access expectations create stress, sleep disturbances and emotional exhaustion — a condition often described as “telepressure”.
India currently follows a 48-hour work week, one of the most demanding in the world. Sule’s proposal aims to give workers the right to disconnect from office communication once duty hours end, helping restore personal time and reduce burnout. She had first introduced this legislation in 2019.
Supporting the move, Congress MP Shashi Tharoor introduced a separate Bill seeking limits on working hours, mental-health support systems, and grievance redress mechanisms for employees.
Sule’s Bill calls for the creation of an Employees’ Welfare Authority, which would oversee digital disengagement policies, ensure baseline studies on off-duty communication, mandate negotiations between companies and staff, and introduce counselling services and digital detox centres. Companies that fail to comply may face penalties amounting to 1% of total employee remuneration.
Though Private Members’ Bills are rarely passed — only 14 have become law so far — the reintroduction signals renewed debate over India’s work culture and employee welfare.
