Behind the sanctions coming into force from 1 July brings to light some very concrete aspects of modern working life: Teams messages at 10 p.m., “quick” calls during the holidays, WhatsApp notifications at the weekend, meetings scheduled early in the morning with colleagues in the US or late at night with those in Asia, remote working becoming the norm, and an unspoken culture of constant availability.

Luxembourg is not creating a “right to ignore one’s phone”. Rather, it requires companies to organise digital working practices more clearly. In practical terms, any company whose employees use digital tools for work purposes must have a specific policy in place to ensure that the right to disconnect outside working hours is respected. This applies to virtually all modern companies.

In particular, the text requires that this scheme specify:

– the practical arrangements for disconnection;

– any technical measures;

– awareness-raising initiatives;

– the rules governing compensation for exceptional exemptions.

In other words, a mere symbolic HR policy may no longer be enough. The Labour and Mines Inspectorate (ITM) will now be able to check whether the company has actually put measures in place in a credible and practical manner. And the administrative penalties provided for can range from €251 to €25,000.

Remote working is also (and above all) affected

The issue becomes particularly sensitive when it comes to remote working. Luxembourg explicitly states that the right of “traditional” employees to disconnect also applies to remote workers. Where remote working is a regular arrangement, the days and times during which the employee must be contactable must even be set out in writing.

This makes a big difference in day-to-day practice. For several years, many companies have allowed very vague practices to become established:

– late replies to emails;

– implicit availability on Teams;

– “quick messages” in the evening;

– calls during holidays;

– an emergency that has become the norm;

– employees who remain constantly connected whilst working from home.

Eleven hours’ sleep a day

With the introduction of ITM inspections, this grey area is becoming increasingly risky. Moreover, the issue is not limited to employees’ day-to-day well-being. Behind the right to disconnect lie broader concerns regarding mental health, digital fatigue, cognitive overload and the prevention of psychosocial risks.

Luxembourg law already stipulates that every employee is normally entitled to at least 11 consecutive hours of daily rest and 44 hours of uninterrupted weekly rest.

The right to disconnect is precisely presented as a practical application of these rest rules in a digital environment, where the boundaries between work and private life are becoming increasingly blurred.

In reality, the issue goes far beyond emails alone. Teams, Slack, WhatsApp Business, mobile notifications, online statuses, video calls, internal chat groups and collaborative platforms are now all part of companies’ considerations. The problem isn’t just the message sent at 10 p.m.

On-call duty, standby duty, emergencies

The real issue is the implicit expectation of a response. A manager may well work late or send an email whilst on an international business trip. This does not automatically mean that an employee must reply immediately. But when such practices become routine, repeated and culturally expected, risks begin to emerge. Luxembourg is specifically seeking to regulate this availability, which has, at times, become invisible.

This is a particularly sensitive issue for international roles, IT teams, technical support, cybersecurity and certain sales roles. However, the right to disconnect does not abolish on-call, standby or duty systems. But the legal framework now requires a clearer distinction to be made between the different situations.

On-call duty and standby duty count as working time. Standby duty, however, is not automatically regarded as working time if the employee is free to come and go as they please. However, European case law makes it clear that standby duty may be regarded as working time if the constraints imposed become too onerous or too frequent.

In other words, a company can no longer quietly turn certain employees into a permanent “on-call” workforce without providing a legal framework for this situation. The risk of “disguised on-call duty” is, moreover, one of the issues that could gradually come to the fore in future legal disputes.

Traceability is the employer’s responsibility

Another important development is traceability. The ITM points out that employers must be able to record the start, end and duration of working time, as well as any overtime or exceptional work. This becomes particularly important in the context of hybrid working.

For years, many employees have continued to check emails in the evenings, reply to messages at the weekend or quietly deal with certain matters outside of working hours without any proper record of the time spent. With the growing emphasis on the right to disconnect, these “invisible hours” are becoming a much more sensitive issue.

However, Luxembourg is not seeking to ban all communication outside working hours. The right to disconnect is not absolute. Certain genuine emergencies will, of course, continue to arise:

– cybersecurity incident;

– critical failure;

– regulatory requirement;

– business continuity;

– an incident affecting the safety of people or data.

But precisely because of this, companies will need to define more clearly what actually constitutes an exceptional emergency. For in many organisations, a sense of urgency has gradually become the norm.

The penalty must remain proportionate

For employees, another question immediately arises: can you be disciplined for failing to reply to a message in the evening or at the weekend? In practice, it all depends on the context. Luxembourg labour law continues to recognise the employer’s disciplinary authority. However, any disciplinary action must be proportionate and based on clearly defined obligations.

In other words, a one-off delay in replying to a late email will be much harder to justify as grounds for a severe penalty. Conversely, certain roles subject to specific availability requirements may still be required to respond in certain predefined situations.

The company’s actual circumstances will be a major factor. Internal practices will be too. A company that has long tolerated certain practices – for example, only replying the following morning – may subsequently find it more difficult to suddenly regard such behaviour as unacceptable.

Data protection: a minefield

The issue also becomes a sensitive one when it comes to data protection.

Some companies might be tempted to step up monitoring of connections, Teams login times, ‘online’ statuses or computer logs in order to demonstrate compliance. However, the GDPR and the CNPD impose strict limits on the monitoring of employees. Continuous and constant monitoring remains highly problematic from a legal perspective. The right to disconnect must therefore not become a pretext for excessive cyber-surveillance.

Luxembourg already has a landmark legal precedent on this issue. Even before the 2023 law, the Court of Appeal had ruled that an employee on leave – “even if they were a manager” – had a right to disconnect and should not be contacted by their line manager during the night.

The change in July 2026 therefore marks, above all, a significant increase in scrutiny of the digital organisation of work. For several years, the right to disconnect remained a relatively theoretical concept. Now, with the ITM’s inspections, companies will have to demonstrate that they have genuinely considered how their employees work, communicate, remain contactable… AND take time to rest.