Portugal prohibits companies from making contact with employees outside working hours

Have you ever had a persistent boss who wouldn’t stop texting you after you left work or logged off? In Portugal, this behavior is now illegal.

The country recently introduced a law that prohibits employers from contacting workers outside their normal hours by phone, text or email.

“The employer must respect the worker’s privacy”, including rest periods and family time, stipulates the new law. Any violation, it continues, constitutes a “serious” offense and may result in a fine.

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

The new policy in Portugal is part of the legislation that regulates working from home (popularized in Brazil as home-office). Employees now have the right to cancel teleworking if they wish – but can also apply for the agreement if it is compatible with their work.

The measure also stipulates that employers are responsible for providing workers with the proper tools to perform their tasks remotely. They must reimburse workers for any additional expenses, including any increase in electricity and gas bills, that they may incur while working from home.

The law was approved by the Portuguese parliament on Friday (5) and entered into force on Saturday (6).

Portugal has been led by a socialist government for six years, although Prime Minister Antonio Costa could be ousted from power early next year. The country’s president recently called an early election for late January amid a budget stalemate.

The capital, Lisbon, has been working hard to attract digital nomads who want to take advantage of remote work to temporarily move or travel outside their home country.

The practice became more common during the pandemic. Research firm Gartner estimates telecommuters will represent 32% of the global workforce by the end of 2021, compared with 17% in 2019.

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