Downing Street made clear on Friday that Sir Keir Starmer intended to implement the plan, but suggested it would take some time to develop.
Asked whether the plan would continue, a 10 Downing Street spokesman said: “As we said more broadly in the King’s Speech, these are not the limits of our ambitions or of the whole of the government’s work. These are the first legislative steps.”
“But more broadly, the government is committed to making work pay and ensuring that workers are protected from exploitative practices and that they are also supported so that employees can be as productive as possible.”
The spokesperson said “good employers” understand that workers “need to be able to disconnect” as it is “good for productivity”, but added that “of course situations can vary” and there will be circumstances where staff will need to be contacted outside working hours.
He said the government was studying “different models of measures that have been put in place in different countries to support productivity and flexibility of work” and would “update them in due course”.
Some have warned that banning external emails could drive down wages, and that the additional financial burden borne by companies would be passed on to workers.
