Portugal has made it illegal for bosses to contact their employees after work hours. The new legislation was approved last week by Portugal’s parliament.
Many workers found themselves housebound amid the pandemic. Unable to travel to the office, companies have been forced to change the way the workday is structured. However, some employers have also used the transition to remote working as an opportunity to blur the boundaries when it concerns the hours worked.
The new protections include fining employers for calling remote workers after hours. It also requires companies to pay for work-from-home amenities such as internet and electricity.
“The employer must respect the privacy of the worker,” including periods of rest and family time, the new law specifies. Employers can face a fine if they fail to adhere to the law, as it is now considered to be a “serious” offense.
“We consider Portugal one of the best places in the world for these digital nomads and remote workers to choose to live in, we want to attract them to Portugal,” Ana Mendes Godinho, Portugal’s Minister of Labour and Social Security, said at Lisbon’s recent Web Summit. “The pandemic has accelerated the need to regulate what needs to be regulated.”
However, a “right to disconnect” law giving teleworkers the ability to switch off work devices was not approved.
In 2017, France ruled that workers had the right to ignore business emails that arrive after hours. The rule ordered companies with 50 or more employees to negotiate new out-of-office email guidelines with staff. \
“These measures are designed to ensure respect for rest periods and … balance between work and family and personal life,” the Ministry of Labor said in a statement at the time.
