Agreement Protects French Workers From Being Pressured to Answer Work Emails at Night

France, which has a 35-hour work week, has instated a measure to ensure that a number of French workers are not pressured to answer work emails after the close of the business day. 

The Guardian reports that the rule, which is an agreement between the federations Syntec and Cinov and the unions CFDT and CGC, protects French workers from being bombarded by work emails. 

While many Anglo news agencies are reporting that the rule affects all of France, the law actually affects around 200,000 workers, according to The Local. 

The workers who are protected by the new stipulation do not work typical 9-to-5 hours, and sometimes work in the evening. Therefore, the new rule protects the workers from being forced to answer work emails when they are relaxing or working in the evenings. 

The agreement does not mention a specific cut-off time for work emails, but says workers should step away from their work emails for 11 hours a day. 

The new agreement, which covers French employees of Google and Facebook, focuses on an "obligation to disconnect." 

Part of the agreement reads: "The employer will ensure the necessary arrangements so that the employee has the opportunity to disconnect from the remote communication tools at its disposal."

While the agreement protects workers from being pressured to answer work emails after a certain time, they are not penalized for bringing home work or answering work emails, if they so choose. 

Union leader Michel de la Force says the rule does not mean workers cannot work after 6 p.m., which many news organizations are erroneously reporting.

He said the agreement simply means "that an employee who does not open his emails on his time off, cannot be criticized."

Other European countries are following suit. Germany already has a similar rule in place, and Sweden is considering implementing a 30-hour work week.