MINISTERS are expected to axe plans to give people a right to “switch off” outside working hours, it was revealed today.

The policy was a central part of Labour’s New Deal for Working People, the promise to strengthen employment rights contained in the party’s general election manifesto.

It did not appear in the Employment Bill, which is currently making its way through Parliament, but ministers have pledged that it will emerge in the future.

However, when they table a series of amendments to the legislation in the coming week, they are expected to admit that the policy has been dropped, according to the Sunday Times.

A government source told the newspaper the “right to switch off is dead.”

Ministers are said to be making the cut to appease business interests after the Budget placed extra costs on employers in the form of higher National Insurance contributions.

The government source said: “Growth that puts money in people’s pockets is the number one priority of this government’s plan for change.”

It means “making Britain the best country in the world to do business and a key part of that is removing unnecessary barriers,” the source added, referring to the right to rest.