The alarm goes off. You roll over, bleary eyed and turn it off. You sigh — it’s another day of work. You pick up your smartphone — it’s 6am, but you decide you should probably check what important emails have come through overnight. You respond to a couple of urgent requests before stumbling out of bed and hopping in the shower. And if you were in Brazil, you’ve just earned yourself a nice little bit of overtime…
The Brazilian government last month approved legislation that stated that answering company emails after the end of a shift constituted overtime. The new law makes it possible for employees to request overtime when they have to work after hours, even if they do it from the comfort of their own home.
How it works in practice is yet to be seen, but don’t expect developed countries around the world to offer the same overtime promise. Best you can do is practice your Portuguese and work on your tan before moving to the South American country. [SMH]