Right to Digital Disconnection

Right to digital disconnection: from good intentions to good management (and why it’s good for business)

Hyperconnectivity made us faster, but also more vulnerable to chronic fatigue, to “pings” at odd hours, and to a dangerous confusion between urgency and habit. For a modern employer, the “right to disconnection” is not a soft HR luxury: it is risk management, compliance, and—when well implemented—a competitive advantage.

Costa Rica: Law 10.168 and Teleworking

In Costa Rica this is no longer a theoretical conversation: since 2022, the reform to the Telework Law guarantees teleworking employees the right not to attend to communications outside their working hours, except for truly urgent unforeseen events and with the worker’s consent. This modification we are talking about is Law 10,168, which amends art. 9 subsection (d) of Law 9738—it is in force, and it is clear: after working hours, the default expectation is work-related silence.

Evidence and Productivity

From an operational perspective, the useful question is not whether it “applies” or not; it is how to land it without breaking the business line.

There is solid evidence in occupational safety and health that links disconnection with:

• The first thing is to recognize that limiting messages outside of hours does not lower productivity: it sustains it.
• There is solid evidence in occupational safety and health that links disconnection with
  • Better rest
  • Less technostress
  • And more sustained performance

In addition, that suggests internal policies with specific training for middle management, where exceptions are often born that later become habit.

In Spain, the INSST published in 2024 a practical guide with a simple message: setting explicit limits protects rest, privacy, and results, and is implemented with diagnosis, policy, training, and follow-up.

Legislation in Spain, France, and Latin America

• Spain: In Spanish legislation the right to disconnection is recognized directly in Law 10/2021, which also requires internal policies for those who work at a distance; it is not a piece of paper: the Labor Inspectorate is sanctioning companies that “have a protocol” but do not apply it, and the courts have already annulled decisions when someone is punished for not responding while on vacation. The signal for the Latin American company that provides services to Europe is unequivocal: disconnection stopped being a “nice to have” and is a standard of diligence.
• France: France was a pioneer in 2016 by requiring negotiation or, failing that, approval of a corporate charter on disconnection; the spirit is preventive: to protect rest times and avoid “always-on connection” as the new normal. For groups with French clients, this is not only external compliance; it is contractual coherence: if your SLA promises a 24/7 response, your internal policy will cease to be credible (and enforceable).
• In Latin America several jurisdictions have already set concrete minimums:

• • Colombia: Colombia enacted in 2022 a general disconnection law that covers the public and private sectors, whatever the modality.
  • Chile: Chile guarantees at least 12 continuous hours of disconnection in each 24-hour period and prohibits contacts during rest and holidays.
  • Argentina: Argentina defines the right not to be contacted outside working hours and during leaves, with an express prohibition against sanctioning for exercising it.
  • Uruguay: Uruguay ensures a minimum rest of 8 continuous hours between working days and forbids requests during that period.
  • Perú: through its Telework Law and its regulation, requires respect for the teleworker’s disconnection with detailed operational development.

Comparative Table: Digital Disconnection Legislation

 

How to Implement It in Your Company

If your company operates regionally or exports services, the simplest way to harmonize is to adopt the highest standard (for example, 12 continuous hours) and turn it into a corporate rule, adjusting compensation when the business requires scheduled on-call duties.

What works, in practice, inside a Costa Rican technology or shared-services company?

1. Real map of communications: which teams and heads send the most messages outside of hours, which channels they use, with which clients and time zones, and whether those interactions are genuinely critical incidents or ordinary tasks that slipped into the night. With data in hand, the policy must cover all personnel (not only telework) and anyone who interacts with them through corporate channels.
2. Define urgent unforeseen event: define, in writing, what constitutes an “urgent unforeseen event” (information security, business continuity, peremptory regulatory compliance) and who certifies that urgency; everything else goes to the next business day or to an on-call scheme previously calendared and compensated.
3. Written policy and contracts: The contractual component is the second pillar. In internal regulations there must coexist rules on disconnection, on on-call duties with compensation, and on escalation in emergencies. In contracts (or addenda) it is advisable to set working hours, authorized channels, and limits on contact; in IT policies, to limit invasive control mechanisms that, outside working hours, can violate privacy and generate contingency. And in SLAs with clients, align service windows and response times with your policy: if there is no on-call duty, the response is on the next business day; if there is, it is provided for in a rotating calendar with recovery time, so that the exception does not become normality. The commercial message matters: “we respond well and we rest well” is more sustainable than promising omnipresence.

Benefits for the Employer

One point every employer values is return.

• When communication is ordered, unrecorded overtime goes down and traceability improves (everything through a corporate channel), which cuts litigation over working hours and digital harassment.
• In addition, wear decreases and turnover stabilizes, with a direct effect on replacement costs and the learning curve.

Costa Rica has already taken the first legal step for telework. The region is advancing with clear models and real sanctions. If your company operates in LATAM or provides services to Europe, this is the moment to adopt a high regional standard, establish it in your policies and contracts, and train your leaders.

GLC Legal: Comprehensive Support

GLC Legal is a firm committed to accompanying the company in all its processes and challenges of a corporate and labor nature, which is why we can design and implement, from beginning to end, your digital disconnection program. If your operation is regional, we harmonize the policy with the highest applicable standard in LATAM and Europe, prepare model clauses by country, and provide support in the face of labor inspection or eventual litigation.

By Yannsi Paniagua, Esq.
GLC LEGAL
yannsi@glclegal.com