Is there a right to switch off in the UK?

Updated 8 November 2026

Pages claiming a right to disconnect started on 26 October 2026, or that a new law stops your employer contacting you after hours, are wrong. Here is what the government actually said, what the law says now, and what you can do if out-of-hours work is getting out of hand.

What did the government say?

In its Next Steps to Make Work Pay paper in October 2024, the government said some reforms would be delivered by other means than legislation, including taking forward the right to switch off through a statutory code of practice.

Since then, the Employment Rights Act 2025 has become law without any right to switch off in it, and the government's Employment Rights Act timeline, updated on 5 November 2026, does not list one. We could find no code of practice on switching off published on gov.uk. Until something is published, no employer is under a specific legal duty to stop contacting you outside working hours. Even a statutory code of practice would be guidance that tribunals take into account, like the Acas code on disciplinary and grievance procedures, rather than a free-standing right you could sue on.

What protects you now: working time limits

The Working Time Regulations limit how much you can be required to work. You cannot be made to work more than 48 hours a week on average, normally averaged over 17 weeks, unless you choose to opt out. An opt-out must be voluntary and in writing, and you cannot be dismissed or treated unfairly for refusing to sign one.

Work your employer requires you to do in the evening, such as calls you are expected to take, counts as working time, and so does time spent on call at your workplace. The guidance says unpaid overtime you have volunteered for does not count towards the 48-hour limit, so the question is whether the out-of-hours work is required or genuinely optional. If required work is pushing your average over 48 hours and you have not opted out, your employer is breaching the limit.

Rest breaks and daily rest

The government's guidance on rest breaks sets out three rights for most workers:

• an uninterrupted 20-minute break if you work more than six hours a day
• 11 hours' rest between working days, so if you finish at 8pm you should not start again until 7am
• an uninterrupted 24 hours without work each week, or 48 hours each fortnight

Workers under 18 have stronger rights, and some jobs have different rules. A late-night request that eats into your 11 hours, followed by an early start, is the kind of pattern these rules are there to stop. If your employer refuses to let you take your rest, you can bring a tribunal claim; our page on the Working Time Regulations claim deadline explains the time limit.

If you have more than one job

The 48-hour average limit applies to your combined working hours. The government's guidance says that if you have more than one job, your total hours across them should not be more than 48 a week on average, unless you opt out. If evening work for one employer is on top of a full day for another, that total is what counts.

Young workers, those above school leaving age and under 18, have stronger protection: usually a 30-minute break if they work more than four and a half hours, daily rest of 12 hours and weekly rest of 48 hours. Out-of-hours contact with a young worker is much more likely to break the rules.

Your contract and your health

Check what your contract says about hours, overtime and being contactable. If it does not require you to be available outside your hours, you can reasonably say so. If you are expected to be on call, the terms should be clear, and if you are on a zero-hours contract, the planned rights on shift notice are still waiting for a start date.

Employers also have a general duty to protect your health and safety, which includes stress. If constant contact is affecting your health, say so in writing and keep a record of when messages arrive and how long you spend on them.

What you can do

• Talk to your manager first. Agree when you will and will not respond, and what counts as urgent.
• Make a flexible working request. If you need set hours to manage caring or health, a flexible working request is a day-one right.
• Raise a grievance. If out-of-hours demands are breaching working time limits or harming your health, a formal grievance puts it on the record.
• Watch for new announcements. If a code of practice on switching off is ever published, this page will be updated. Our page on the Employment Rights Act changes lists what is coming and when.