Specifically, under the new law, “employers must respect the privacy of their employees,” including rest time and family time. Any violation is considered a “serious” offense and can result in a fine. France has had a similar rule since 2017, allowing its workers to ignore work emails after hours.
However, the new regulation only applies to companies with more than 10 employees. - Photo: Internet
This new policy is one of Portugal's regulations on working from home. In addition, the country also added some other laws such as employees have the right to refuse to work remotely if they want, they can also make requests to their bosses about arranging and allocating work to suit other activities in their lives.
Employers will be required to provide employees with the tools they need to work remotely, and will be required to cover any additional costs, including increased electricity and gas bills, when employees are required to work from home. During this time, both parties should arrange face-to-face meetings every two months.
Portugal's ruling party - the Socialist Party (PS) said the new regulations were adopted to respond to the trend of many workers working remotely, due to the impact of the Covid-19 pandemic. - Photo: Internet
Additionally, employees with children will also have the option to work from home indefinitely without manager permission, until their children turn eight years old.
Ana Mendes Godinho, Portugal's Minister of Labor and Social Security, said the Portuguese government wants to make remote working as easy as possible, and especially to attract new workers from abroad to work in the European country. Research firm Gartner estimates that remote workers will make up 32% of the global workforce by the end of 2021, up from 17% in 2019.
