Working from home over the last year has almost blurred lines when it comes to separating work life from home life. There's nothing worse than getting off work, decompressing from the day and your phone goes off with a message from your boss. But in Portugal it is now ILLEGAL for bosses to message staff after hours.
Under the new labour laws, employers could face penalties if they contact their staff on off hours, either before or after work. The new rule also bans bosses from monitoring their staff while they work remotely. If a company has less than 10 employees, however, the rule won't apply.
During a conference, Portugal's Minister of Labour and Social Security, Ana Mendes Godinho, said:
"The pandemic has accelerated the need to regulate what needs to be regulated," she continues, "Telework can be a 'game changer' if we profit from the advantages and reduce the disadvantages."
"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."
Source: LADBible