The Government of the Republic of Kenya published the Employment (Amendment) Bill 2022 (the Bill) for introduction to the Senate of Kenya, to amend the Employment Act to provide for employees’ right to disconnect in the digital age and the right of employees to have their personal-time and privacy respected.
The Bill was introduced to address increased employee burnout, ensure ample leisure time for employees and to create a healthy work life balance.
If passed, the Bill will grant employees a right not to be contacted by their employer outside of contractual working hours, except when necessary for the purposes of dealing with a workplace emergency. The Bill specifies that the emergency must relate to an issue within the responsibility of the employee.
The Bill also requires employers to create policies regarding the circumstances under which:
an employer may contact an employee during out of work hours;
use of electronic devices to send or receive information, messages or any digital work-related communication during out of work hours; and
circumstances under which the right to disconnect may be waived.
Employers with more than ten (10) employees will be required to consult their employees when creating the said policy.
The Bill also provides that employees would not be obliged to respond to communication outside work hours. Employers would not be permitted to reprimand if the employee disregards a work-related communication during out of work hours. If an employee chooses to respond, the employee would be entitled to compensation.
For further information please contact Walid Khan or your relationship partner at Africa Law Partners.