French workers have the right to be able to ignore the emails of their employer during the weekend and generally after the end of their work.
Since January 1, France has enforced a new law on the employment of workers, which requires companies with more than 50 workforce to negotiate the terms of the messages Email sent by the employer after the end of their work and to determine the right of employees to ignore such communication.
The truth is that as soon as we heard this news we started making bitter comments, comparing the situation in Greece with this law in France. In today's Greece where there are no jobs, overtime pay touches the realm of fantasy, the real salary is below the basic and if you are paid on time, the French law by which you can basically tell your employer on the weekends "$% & # ^% &", Is like icing on the cake.
Nevertheless, the law is a conquest of the labor force of France and aims to deal with it problem of the so-called "always-on" work culture, giving employees the right to disconnect their private life from work.
Excessive use of digital devices for work-related reasons has long been accused of destroying healthy sleep habits and causing other interpersonal complications, and French psychologists have repeatedly warned about possible harmful effects of ongoing work via email.
In October, the French Eleas Research Institute revealed that more than one third of communication devices are being used by French workers to carry out post-work tasks. The study also showed that approximately 60 per cent of employees were in favor of legislation to regulate such incidents.
France is not the only country that has dealt with the issue. Earlier in 2011, the Volkswagen agreed to their employees turn off their BlackBerrys after the end of their work to prevent communication with employers by email.
So if you are working in a multinational company that has trading in France and need to travel up there, you can no longer ignore the emails of your unduly demanding employer. At least until the rest of the world follows France's leading leadership, as it should be.
