In order to improve the work-life balance, Portugal Parliament passed a law that bans employers from emailing, texting, or calling employees out of working hours. With this, Portugal became the first country to bring such a law.
As per the new law, “The employer must respect the privacy of the worker including periods of rest and family time. Businesses with more than 10 employees to pay fines if they violate their employees’ “right to rest”.”
Another provision says that employers must compensate home-based employees for expenses incurred by telecommuting, such as electricity and internet bills.
The new law gives parents with young children the right to work from home with kids up to 8 years old without having to arrange in advance with employers.
“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,” said Ana Mendes Godinho, Minister of Labor and Social Security.
However, the Portuguese parliament has not passed the proposal of “Right To Disconnect” under which workers can switch off work devices.
