Employers have come out strongly against rumoured plans to introduce the right to disconnect in Malta before the EU does so, saying “there is no rational reason to rush”. 

“Malta should never be used as a guinea pig so that other countries may learn and benefit from our mistakes,” the Malta Employers’ Association said in a statement on Monday. 

“There are still many aspects of this concept which are nebulous and it would be irresponsible to act before a common denominator for all EU countries is established.” 

The MEA statement came one day after MEP Alex Agius Saliba told The Malta Independent that minister Carmelo Abela had indicated to him that the government wanted to introduce the right to disconnect before the EU passed its own directive on the issue. 

The right to disconnect allows workers to cut off from work-related activity during out-of-office hours, giving them the right to not respond to emails or phone calls in the evenings or weekends, for instance.

Agius Saliba has piloted a European Parliament initiative to push the European Commission to introduce a directive on the matter, with MEPs voting in favour of that last month. 

Talk of legislating before the EU has alarmed employers, however. In its statement, the MEA said that it would be “completely premature” to introduce local legislation at this stage, as talks were under way. 

“There are still many aspects of this concept which are nebulous and it would be irresponsible to act before a common denominator for all EU countries is established,” it said. 

“There have been no local studies that determine the nature or even the extent of the issue. It should be obvious that these matters cannot be approached impulsively, as the result can be detrimental to the smooth operation of both private and public sector organisations.” 

Any such legislation could not apply to all employees and would have to take into account their responsibility, type of work and their standard working conditions, the MEA added.