Workers with management and trust functions are not within the labor disconnection, according to ministerial agreement

During a holiday, Manuel was enjoying a day at the beach with his family. He thought that he was going to enjoy a weekend disconnected from work and without receiving calls, but that relaxation did not last long.

He was notified for an urgent matter and since Manuel is the general manager of a company he had to return to Guayaquil for the following day to convene the other holders of the areas.

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“I am always on the phone for any eventuality. I try to spend the weekends with my family, but I am attentive for the very fact of being a trustworthy person. They are sacrifices that must be made when one has a high positionsays Manuel.

But this lack of disconnection has led Manuel to have complications in his health. “My eyelid begins to tremble, I get stomach pains. Sometimes it’s hard to sleep because the brain keeps thinkinglooking for solutions, strategies”, he expresses.

Like Manuel, there are more citizens who occupy high positions in a company such as managers, directors, coordinators, among others, and who they spend most of their time connected from work to assuming great responsibilities.

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But his disconnection is not the same as the other workers, as indicated by the ministerial agreement No. MDT-2022-237, of December 23, 2022.

The disconnection, regardless of the type of contract, is at least twelve continuous hours in a period of 24 hours when the day ends. After this time, the employer cannot establish communications with the worker, nor formulate orders or other requirements, except in the case that one or more of the circumstances provided for in article 52 of the Labor Code is verified.

“People who perform management, trust and management functions in the company will not be subject to the disconnection rules”says the document in article 12. And for the labor lawyer Vanessa Velásquez, this last point is “an atrocity”considering that everyone, whether they are managers, assistant managers, coordinators, among others, are entitled to a disconnection as well as a lesser charge.

“This is contrary to the Labor Code, which says that you have the right to 48 hours of continuous rest (article 51). This is a ministerial agreement that makes no sense,” Velásquez points out, adding that, in these cases, the Labor Code is above the ministerial agreement, for which these positions do have the right to a disconnection and anyone who does not agree can prioritize the supreme norm.

However, Adriana Gutiérrez, administrative coordinator of Human Talent at Casa Grande University, presumes that this part of the ministerial agreement is more on the side of when an emergency occurs.

“For example, if an eventuality occurs, who do you call, you don’t call the messenger but a director. But I don’t totally agree with that because I consider that they are people and they have their families.times… due to the degree of functions that it performs, it may happen, not always and it depends on the organization”, Gutiérrez mentions.

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Manuel, for example, when reading this part of the ministerial agreement, said that everyone has the right to get away from work, even if it is minimal. “If a disconnection is necessary, even to generate new ideas,” says Manuel.

Gutiérrez also believes that this is based on respect. For example, if you need to send an email to someone who is out of their hours, you can schedule the email or, in the case of a non-urgent call, wait until the next day.

“What if you are subject to say no? I believe that we are all free to say “no”. I believe that the issue of disconnection is not only one of organization but also of respect”, underlines Gutiérrez, who adds that mental health is paramount. (YO)