By Lauryne Akoth
Picture this: it’s 8 p.m., you’ve just settled in for a quiet evening at home, and then your phone rings. It’s your boss. Do you answer?
The debate over contacting employees after work is very relevant in Kenya, particularly when it comes to setting professional boundaries, so much so that a bill was tabled in parliament over the same. Nandi Senator, Samson Kiprotich Cherargei tabled a bill in parliament seeking to make it a criminal offence for employers to contact their employees past working hours.
The senator argued that employees possess the right to disengage from the digital realm, emphasizing the necessity to confront the escalating instances of employee burnout.
While addressing the media, the senator said,” I want to encourage employees, employers should provide employees with an office line such that when it reaches 5 p.m., you switch off that line. Even if they are using the normal line, switch off or block the employer from calling you.”
The employment amendment bill sponsored by the senator drew sharp criticism from the Federation of Kenyan Employers, which led the bill to be tabled before the National Assembly for debate.
During the second reading of the bill on 28th February, the legislators questioned the legality of the bill citing interference in the contractual relationship between employer and employee.
Kangema Mp Peter Kihungi noted that the bill does not consider domestic workers arguing that domestic workers are around their employers most of the time.
“The bill should cover all employees, not target a few and leave the others. For a domestic worker, the bill should have indicated at what stage a domestic worker should disengage from the employee while they are living in the same premises.”
The Nandi senator thought that the bill would lead to a work-life balance among employees improving their quality of life. He additionally mentioned that the proposed Bill would enable the establishment of conducive work environments for employees, referencing Section 27 of the Employment Act of 2007.
The National Assembly’s standing committee on Labour and social Welfare opposed the bill noting that it contravened Kenya’s employment laws.
Tharaka Mp George Gitonga said, ” This bill seems to be in contravention of employment laws in the country especially bearing in mind that employment law is civil law, not criminal law. It is based on a contract between two persons; an employer and employee.”
The proposed legislation also suggested that no punitive measures should be imposed on an employee opting to disregard a call beyond regular working hours. Furthermore, employers found violating this law could potentially face a one-year prison term and a fine of Ksh.500,000.
Despite the committee kicking out the bill, would you legalize it given the chance? Is it a principle you would adopt to set professional boundaries, and most importantly, maintain a work-life balance?