Portugal makes it illegal for your boss to text you after work

10 November 2021, 13:10

Workers in Portugal now have new rights working from home. Picture: Getty Images

It's hoped that workers in Portugal will now have a healthier work-life balance.

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It will now be illegal for companies to text their employees after work hours in Portugal.

The new legislation was approved by the country’s parliament on Friday after a huge increase in the number of people working from home following Covid.

It is hoped the new rules will create a ‘healthier work-life balance’, with employers facing penalties for contacting workers outside of their office hours.

You can no longer text your employees out of office hours in Portugal. Picture: Getty Images

Businesses will also have to pay for extra bills which are incurred when people work from their houses, including internet and electricity.

As part of the legislation, companies will not be allowed to monitor remote workers as they work from home.

However, MPs in Portugal rejected the ‘right to disconnect’ proposal, which suggested that employees should be able to turn off work-related messages and devices outside of standard office hours.

It’s also good news for parents, as mums and dads with kids under eight now have the right to work from home without having to arrange it in advance with their employers.

Worker in Portugal have new rights. Picture: Getty Images

Companies will also be expected to organise face-to-face meetings at least every two months.

Ana Mendes Godinho, Portugal’s Minister of Labour and Social Security recently said at a web summit: “The pandemic has accelerated the need to regulate what needs to be regulated.

“Telework can be a ‘game changer’ if we profit from the advantages and reduce the disadvantages”.

The Minister also hopes that remote working will bring more people to work in the country, as she added: “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.”