In Portugal, it's now illegal for your boss to call outside work hours

Authored by edition.cnn.com and submitted by why-you-online
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London (CNN Business) Ever had a persistent boss who won't stop messaging you once you've left work or logged off? In Portugal, that behavior is now illegal.

The country recently introduced a law that bans employers from contacting workers outside of their regular hours by phone, message or email.

"The employer must respect the privacy of the worker," including periods of rest and family time, the new law stipulates. Any violation, it continues, constitutes a "serious" offense and could result in a fine.

A similar rule gave French workers the right to ignore after-hours business emails in 2017.

Portugal's new policy is part of legislation that regulates working from home. Employees now have the right to opt-out of remote work should they so wish — but they can also request the arrangement if it's compatible with their job.

HegelsBikeMechanic on November 11st, 2021 at 22:48 UTC »

It's nice to see some places still have "work hours".

mredofcourse on November 11st, 2021 at 21:40 UTC »

I had a boss once who broke into the HR office, found my mother's contact info and called for me when I was mid-flight to visit for Christmas. It really scared my mother because he started the call with, "Is this the mother of [my name]..." so she thought something happened to me.

The call was also completely unnecessary. We were in the middle of contract negotiations with a large company that had the entire week off. He was trying to get me to review contract draft changes on Christmas that they wouldn't see for at least a week later.

I've also had CEOs that wanted to call and just mindlessly chatter on and on about their "vision" as if they just finished dinner with their family and didn't know what to do next.

So yeah, I can see where this law comes into play.

Doctor420Strange69 on November 11st, 2021 at 21:18 UTC »

I wish they did that in the US. If I’m not on the schedule, and am not absolutely essential to the operation, I’m not coming in.