Can an SME be fined for sending an email outside working hours in 2026?

Yes. A company was fined more than 1,500 euros for sending a work-related communication outside working hours concerning mandatory training. The case confirms that sending emails or messages outside the working day may infringe the right to digital disconnection, even if no explicit reply is required. In 2026, this risk directly affects the day-to-day operations of SMEs.

The case arises from a situation that is common in everyday business. A company informed its workforce, outside working hours, about the completion of a mandatory training course. There was no objective urgency or exceptional circumstance justifying the timing of the communication.

The Labour Inspectorate considered that this action infringed the rights to rest and to digital disconnection. In addition, the timing and content of the communication were deemed to affect the organisation of working time without complying with the legally required notice.

The result was a financial penalty exceeding 1,500 euros, which was later confirmed. The message is clear: a serious conflict or repeated conduct is not required for an infringement to exist.

Many SMEs operate with a culture of proximity and flexibility that has normalised certain practices:

• Emails sent late in the afternoon.
• WhatsApp messages outside working hours to move tasks forward.
• Informal notices about changes, meetings or training.

Until recently, these practices rarely caused problems. However, labour regulations have evolved, and the focus is no longer on whether the employee replies, but on whether the company intrudes into rest time by creating an obligation or implicit pressure.

For this reason, digital disconnection has become a core issue of daily labour compliance.

The right to digital disconnection protects rest periods, leave and holidays from the use of digital tools for work-related purposes outside working hours.

This right creates specific obligations for the company:

• Organising work-related communications in a way that respects rest time.
• Avoiding unnecessary use of emails, messages or calls outside working hours.
• Establishing clear internal criteria on when and how contact may take place.

It is not only about avoiding a reply. In many cases, receiving the message itself already interferes with the employee’s rest.

Proper management of internal communications allows compliance without losing efficiency.

You can, for example:

• Schedule emails and notices to be sent during working hours, even if drafted outside them.
• Clearly define which situations are genuinely urgent and who is authorised to act.
• Share purely informational content that does not imply actions or expectations of response.
• Establish internal protocols for the use of email, messaging and collaborative tools.
• Train managers and team leaders to avoid improvised decisions.

Certain behaviours significantly increase sanction risk:

• Sending communications outside working hours that involve obligations or future tasks.
• Calling training sessions, meetings or courses outside working hours without compensation or rest.
• Using urgency as a standard argument when no real urgency exists.
• Creating implicit pressure through messages presented as merely informative.
• Assuming that the absence of complaints validates the practice.

The impact is not limited to a single fine. Poor management of digital disconnection may lead to:

• Financial penalties and broader inspection actions.
• Individual disputes and labour claims.
• Deterioration of the working environment and loss of team trust.
• Documentary exposure, such as emails and messages, leaves a clear record.

For an SME, these risks directly affect time, costs and peace of mind.

Respecting digital disconnection does not mean stopping communication; it means improving it.

Reviewing how, when and by whom messages are sent outside working hours is a simple preventive measure. Defining clear criteria that are adapted to the business’s reality provides legal certainty and strengthens internal relationships.