The Portuguese parliament passed a law on Friday and banned bosses from text messaging and e-mailing employees after working hours in order to improve work-life balance, reports BBC.
Companies with more than 10 staff members can face fine if they contact their employees outside their contracted hours.
The new law “right to rest” was introduced in response to an expansion of working from home in the country.
Under this, companies will allow staff with children to work remotely, the companies also may have to contribute to higher household bills.
Portugal’s Minister of Labour and Social Security, Ana Mendes Godinho, hoped that the enhanced labour protections would attract more foreigners to the country.
Portugal already has a temporary resident visa scheme to attract entrepreneurs and freelancers.
In parliament, there were some elements in the bill, for instance, the “right to disconnect”, which allows staff to turn off all work devices out of hours. However, it didn’t get approved.
