A Parliamentary workgroup for labour laws has flunked proposals made by various parties with regards to the right to professional disconnection.

The Socialist Party’s (PS) proposal focused on establishing that ‘using digital tools in the context of a labour relationship cannot impede the worker’s right to rest, except when based on imperious demands of a company’s well functioning’.

The Left Bloc’s (BE) Member of Parliament, José Soeiro, labelled the proposal as ‘perverse’ and ‘dangerous’ because it formalises in the eyes of the law the situations in which an employee may in fact be contacted. A stance supported by the Communists (PCP), who claim the PS initiative would ‘poke holes’ on the worker’s resting period.

The PCP then advanced its own proposal, asking for tougher penalties for employers breaching rest periods, while the BE wanted to elevate such encroachment to the status of harassment.

All proposals were rejected.