Yes, you have a right to switch off. The Workers Statute (Estatuto de los Trabajadores) says so in one sentence, article 20 bis, and leaves the detail to another law. That does not make it empty: your rest and your holiday are protected by articles with concrete numbers, and work you do outside your hours counts as working time. This page separates what is in the Statute from what depends on your company’s policy.
The Statute recognises disconnection in one sentence
Article 20 bis says employees have the right to privacy when using the digital devices the company provides, to digital disconnection, and to privacy against video surveillance and geolocation, “under the terms set out in current legislation on personal data protection and guarantee of digital rights”. That legislation is Organic Law 3/2018.
What you will not find in the text of the Statute:
- A specific time window in which they cannot write to you.
- A penalty for whoever writes to you.
- A definition of “outside hours”.
All of that is spelled out elsewhere: in the organic law, in your convenio colectivo (collective agreement) or in your company’s internal policy. This page does not cover the organic law; consult it if you need the detail.
Your working day already has limits, and those are in numbers
Short as article 20 bis is, the Statute’s rest rules set how far work can reach:
| Limit | Article | What it says |
|---|---|---|
| Rest between working days | 34.3 | Minimum of twelve hours between the end of one day and the start of the next |
| Weekly rest | 37.1 | An uninterrupted day and a half, accumulable over periods of up to fourteen days |
| Holiday | 38.1 | At least thirty calendar days, not replaceable by money |
| Maximum working time | 34.1 | Forty hours a week on average over the year |
Any work you do in those windows (answering a client, opening an urgent email, taking a call) is work. It is explained in mandatory rest: the 12 hours and in the weekly hours limit.
A night-time message can push back your start time
If work outside hours is working time, the twelve-hour rest is counted from when you finish. Example with numbers.
| Item | Time |
|---|---|
| End of your working day | 19:00 |
| You answer incidents by email | 21:00 to 22:00 |
| Real end of your work | 22:00 |
| Minimum rest | 12 hours |
| Earliest start the next day | 10:00 |
If your schedule is to start at 8:00, you have only rested 10 hours between 22:00 and 8:00. That falls short of the twelve required by article 34.3. On that count, your start should be at 10:00. If the company will not accept that, write to your manager with the exact times and keep its reply.
Hours outside your schedule are paid or compensated
Article 35.1 defines overtime as the hours that exceed the maximum ordinary working time. They are paid at the rate set by the collective agreement or contract, never lower than the value of an ordinary hour, or compensated with equivalent paid rest. If there is no agreement, they are compensated with rest within the following four months.
Example. You work 3 hours outside your hours that exceed your ordinary working day, in a week in October.
- Compensation as rest: 3 hours of paid rest.
- Deadline if there is no agreement: four months from when you worked them.
- If you worked them on 20 October 2026, the company should compensate them before 20 February 2027.
Overtime is voluntary unless it was agreed in the collective agreement or contract (art. 35.4), and the cap is 80 hours a year (art. 35.2). The detail is in overtime: limit and pay. To prove it, the company must keep the working time record.
How to use the right without putting yourself in a difficult spot
- Ask whether a disconnection policy exists at your company or in your collective agreement. That is what spells the right out.
- Reply within your hours and stop being instant outside them. You have no obligation to answer on the spot.
- If there is a real emergency, record that it is work and note the hours.
- Keep screenshots of messages with the time, who sent them and what they asked.
- Ask in writing not to be contacted on holiday or on your day off.
Article 20.2 obliges you to show the diligence and cooperation set by your employer’s instructions “in the regular exercise of its management powers” and to act in good faith. It is not an invitation to ignore your boss, but a limit: an order within the rules is one thing; permanent availability is another.
Why your case may be different
- Your agreement or company has a disconnection policy. If it exists, it is the text that protects you most: ask for it.
- Your job requires agreed availability, such as on-call duty. If it is in the contract or agreement, agreed availability is governed by what was agreed and must be compensated accordingly.
- You work remotely. The right stays, and the line blurs more easily: see remote working: rights and costs.
If you are penalised for switching off
Keep messages, times and replies, and do not respond in the heat of the moment. Talk to a union or an employment lawyer (abogado laboralista). As for the company, the LISOS does not expressly mention disconnection, but it does classify breaching the limits on working time, rest, holiday and leave as a serious offence (art. 7.5), with fines of €751 to €7,500 depending on the grade (art. 40). When there is a real excess of hours or a rest shortfall, that is the route by which it is measured.
When planning your calendar, distinguish weekly rest from statutory holiday days in Spain.
This page is general information based on the consolidated text of the Workers Statute. If deadlines or money are at stake, talk to an employment lawyer or a union.