Digitalisation has revealed new facets regarding labour relations and working conditions and has led to new models of organisation that have an impact on forms of work, the manner in which talent is managed and on production models. Former notions, such as the place where the work is performed and the number of working hours, are being replaced by a more dynamic reality that has a direct impact on the lives and families of workers.

Unless we are able to make a clear distinction between working and leisure time, the phenomenon of workplace flexibility could create a confusion between working and professional life, with overexposure to technology having serious negative consequences on workers’ quality of life.

In order to address the need for a clear delimitation between working and non-working hours for Telefonica workers, the parties have signed a national agreement with a commitment to extend it to all countries, operations and jurisdictions where Telefonica carries out its activities. This shall be done by means of the present annex to the Global Agreement that is currently in force at the company.

Principles on the Right to Disconnect Applicable to Telefonica’s Global Operations

Telefonica and UNI Global Union undertake to respect the following principles with regard to digitalisation and connectivity, its impact on labour relations and the work-life balance:

We will remain open to discuss new forms that will improve the work life balance of employees. It is for this reason that we believe that advances in digital technologies should not make that balance more difficult to achieve. As a result, respecting workers’ leisure time, special leave and vacation periods must be recognised as a worker’s right and become an objective strategy for the company.

The right to disconnect will be extended to all countries, operations and jurisdictions where Telefonica carries out its activities.

Telefonica and UNI Global Union will give priority to collective bargaining and negotiations with the trade unions and workers’ representatives, recognising them as the most effective way to ensure the full implementation of the principles established in this agreement.

Telefonica undertakes to promote awareness-raising actions at all levels of the company on the correct use of technologies. The objective is to ensure that such technologies are intelligently managed and that they contribute to raising the competitiveness and good functioning of the company. Hence the importance of having an opportunity such as this to take the lead in framing such regulations, particularly as it will increasingly affect businesses throughout the world.

Telefonica also undertakes to take specific measures, depending on the company’s operational circumstances and needs in the different countries in which it operates, to ensure that once the working day is over, workers’ right to leisure time is respected. In so doing, the company recognises the right for employees to disconnect and sees this as fundamental to achieving a better organisation of working time in the interests of respecting workers’ private and family life, and in the final analysis, their quality of life and health.

In order to determine which measures are most suited to protecting workers’ leisure time at the end of the working day, the company will cooperate with workers’ local representatives who will be involved in the collective bargaining discussions. Conditions will be agreed stipulating when workers will be allowed to switch off their digital tools, ensuring flexibility and productivity, and also ensuring that no one will have to fear disciplinary action or a negative performance evaluation resulting from that disconnection. These measures shall be reviewed on a regular basis and be adapted to new circumstances that may emerge in the future resulting from legislation or national or local collective agreements.

At the same time, both Telefonica and UNI Global Union undertake to step up their efforts to take maximum advantage of new technologies in order to promote different forms of work organisation involving greater flexibility and diversity. By the same token, we shall rely on the latest tools to improve training, communication, and freedom of expression for all workers and to ensure that basic or tedious tasks can be carried out speedily and efficiently.

The objective of all that is set out above is to promote a working environment that is both motivating and inclusive, and in which technological progress does not act as an obstacle, but rather as help for workers who can use their talents in order to meet the company’s goals and build their future together.