Irish workers have been reminded of their legal right to disconnect from work while taking annual leave this summer by the Irish Congress of Trade Unions (Ictu).As summer holidays near, the unions have stated workers who are taking annual leave hold the right to “fully switch off from work, and a right not to be penalised for doing so”.“Nobody should feel they have to be checking emails from the beach, or joining a Zoom meeting during a family trip to the zoo,” said Laura Bambrick, Ictu social policy officer.The Workplace Relations Committee (WRC) acknowledged some elements of a right to disconnect in its code of practice in 2021.The code of practice acknowledges the right not to work outside normal working hours, which includes being contacted during annual leave.It also means workers may not be penalised for refusing to attend to work matters outside normal working hours, including while on annual leave.Employers should not routinely contact workers outside their normal working hours, including when they are on annual leave.Bambrick said: “An expectation to ‘check in’ erodes everyone’s downtime, undermining the employee’s R & R time and ultimately their health and safety.“People work hard throughout the year, and are entitled to time off uninterrupted.” She said that duty “goes both ways”.“If you’re not on leave yourself, that means thinking twice before firing off a message to a colleague who is,” she urged.“A quick email might feel harmless to send, but it lands on someone else’s holiday, and it puts pressure on them to respond.”Those who are put under pressure to remain available while on leave have been urged to contact their union or the WRC.