Portugal: Bosses banned from contacting employees after work hours

While there are several advantages to working from home, one of the biggest challenges is switching off and leaving your work at the office.

But Portugal has offered a solution for the problem by passing a new law that bans bosses from contacting their employees after work hours.

The new laws, aptly dubbed "the right to rest", have been introduced to improve work-life balance as most of the country's population works from home.

Employers who violate the laws, which are limited to companies with 10 employees or more, could face fines if they text or email staff after contracted hours.

Portugal is not the first country to introduce such a scheme. In 2016, France enacted a similar rule called the "right to disconnect". The law came into force in 2017.

Under it, companies with more than 50 workers were required to establish the hours when staff are not supposed to send or answer emails.