The 'right to switch off' is being supported by a significant majority of small business owners, as revealed in recent research.
Breath HR's data shows that 85% of leaders from small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) are in favour of the move, which allows employees to disconnect from work outside their office hours. The support is reportedly due to its potential benefits for both productivity and staff welfare, as reported by .
These findings are based on a Breathe HR survey involving 526 senior leaders at British SMEs. The survey was conducted ahead of the introduction of the Employment Rights Bill in Parliament in the upcoming weeks.
However, the implementation of this move could be delayed due to opposition from large businesses, which have reportedly shown less enthusiasm towards the proposed changes.
Despite this, SME leaders believe that the legislation will be beneficial for their organisations. 68% of them think it will enhance productivity, while 69% believe it will improve staff retention.
The bill includes several new rights such as day-one flexibility requests, a four-day workweek, and the 'right to switch off'.
While larger firms are resistant with a recent IoD survey showing that 58% of big business leaders oppose such restrictions - SME bosses remain optimistic.
Gareth Burrows, the founder of Breathe HR, highlighted that "SMEs are the lifeblood of Britain's business ecosystem".
Despite the overwhelming support for new workers' rights by SMEs, 61% of its leaders acknowledge that implementing these changes could significantly increase their workload.
He asserts: "We don't believe the burden should sit heavily on the shoulders of SMEs", calling for increased assistance to aid small business leaders in dealing with the adjustments.
While SMEs, comprising 99.9% of 海角视频 businesses, are set to accept these new stipulations, attention now turns to whether the 'right to switch off' will materialise as an official law or become integrated into a code of practice for enterprises.
