Pandji's Tweet About His Workers Is A Reminder Of How Blurry The Office Hour Is In The Work Creation Law

Pandji Pragiwaksono (Instagram/@pandji.pragiwaksono)

JAKARTA - The tweet of celebrity, Pandji Pragiwaksono caused controversy a few days ago. Pandji exposed the interesting perspective that he is a person who has no problem contacting employees in the early hours, even on weekends for work. The debate revolves around unethical ethics. For us, it is more than that. Pandji's tweet is a reminder that there is no legal umbrella that fairly regulates this dimension. The new Job Creation Law that was passed? Do not hope. This is even more troublesome for workers.

In an English-language tweet, Pandji said he had sent a message to his team about work at 00.44 WIB, Saturday. "People think working with me is fun and full of laughter. Entrepreneur Pandji is very different from Entertainer Pandji," he wrote.

Pandji admits that he is the type of person who always "pushes" others, demands, and doesn't make small talk. He can also fire people quickly.

Pandji's statement drew criticism from many Twitter users. The actor as well as the host is considered to be acting arbitrarily and oppressing his employees.

I just texted my team about work stuff at 00:44 on a Saturday.People think working with me is fun & filled with laughter. Entrepreneur Pandji is very much different with Pandji's Entertainer. I push people. Im demanding. And i dont mince words. Plus, i fire people quick.

- Pandji Pragiwaksono (@pandji) January 22, 2021

The @nikensupraba account owner, for example. He said, "I cannot understand how a person can feel so proud of destroying someone else's work-life balance," he wrote.

Polemics like this have been in the spotlight in Western countries in recent years. They began to pay serious attention to workers' rights to withdraw from work after office hours. This kind of movement is commonly referred to as the 'right to disconnect'.

Right to disconnect

Paul M. Secunda, in an article entitled The Employee Right to Disconnect published in "Notre Dame Journal of International & Comparative Law", discusses details regarding the issue of employee rights to leave their jobs after working hours are cleared. Initially, he described research that showed the level of fatigue, stress, and fear of losing a job experienced by employees in the US was at an alarming level.

According to him, the continuous exposure to work demands undermines the health of the work environment. Secunda said the majority of workers in the United States feel overworked or overwhelmed by their work.

Most of them, said Secunda, felt like their work never really ended. It is commonplace in the US, when superiors, such as directors, managers, and supervisors contact their subordinates via e-mail, SMS, or social media after work.

Company bosses often ask their employees to return to work immediately and ask employees to complete a task the next morning. That is what makes employees seem to have no boundaries between work life and personal life.

This caught France's attention five years ago. This country is one of the martyrs who have fought for the right to ignore work after working hours or the 'right to disconnect'. They call the right to leave work after working hours as part of human rights (HAM).

Photo illustration (Mario Gogh / Unsplash)

For them, it is part of "creating a healthier work environment," says Secunda. As Vice proclaimed, in 2016 France issued a law on the right to cut off communications after working hours or what is called a 'disconnect'.

The regulation encourages employers to have agreements with their employees regarding the rules for using digital tools. The goal is to respect employees' rights to rest time and their family life.

Neighboring France, Italy also implemented a similar rule in 2018. Many companies are following the rules, including multinational company Volkswagen which enforces server rules.

The company automatically shuts down its outgoing email servers from 6 pm to 7 am every day. Meanwhile, in the US, New York is taking this problem seriously.

Board Member Rafael Espinal introduced a rule that "prohibits private employees in New York from checking and answering email or other forms of electronic communication outside of working hours."

The bill was proposed as a way to regulate boundaries between workers' personal and professional lives. Unfortunately, efforts to discuss the regulation stopped in January 2019.

Blurry office hours in the Job Creation Law

Then what about in Indonesia? Indonesian law seems far from ready to accommodate problems in that dimension. This further makes the concept of 'right to disconnect' impossible to implement.

From a legal perspective, according to the Director of the Indonesian Legal Aid Foundation (YLBHI) Asfinawati, in general, Pandji cannot force his employees. "In general, he can't force it. This means that contacting is fine, but if it is not answered, that's fine," he told VOI.

However, matters like that can be an exception if there is already an agreement and compensation. "Either a reduction in working hours at other hours and/or overtime pay, or a work shift," said Asfinawati.

Demo reject Omnibus Law (Mery Handayani / VOI)

Meanwhile, if you look at the labor regulations stipulated in Law Number 13 of 2003 concerning Manpower plus Law Number 11 of 2020 concerning Job Creation, regulations regarding when work starts and ends of working hours are not specifically regulated.

It is returned to the agreement in the work agreement, company regulations, or cooperation agreement. The law, which was only passed last year using the omnibus law technique, only regulates the maximum number of hours worked. As stipulated in Article 81 Number 21 paragraph 2 of Law 11/2020 the provisions on working time are described in two schemes.

First, the scheme of six working days a week, totaling seven hours per day and 40 hours per week. Second, the scheme of five working days in one week, with a total of eight hours per day and 40 hours per week.

Meanwhile, for work regulations that exceed the provisions for working hours or overtime, based on Law 13/2003, employers who wish to provide overtime work also need to get approval from the worker concerned.

And overtime hours must also not exceed the stipulated time limit for working overtime. The Job Creation Law extends the limit on overtime for workers.

Previously, according to Article 78 of Law 13/2003, the maximum overtime working time was three hours a day and 14 hours a week. This provision is changed to a maximum of four hours a day and 18 hours a week, as stipulated in Article 89 Number 22 paragraph 1 of Law 11/2020.