Britain isn't a nation of slackers – we're on the clock 24/7 and we deserve the 'right to disconnect' | Owen Jones

Imagine your boss being fined for calling you after hours. In some European countries, that's already a reality, and Labour wants us to follow suit

The idea of a clear demarcation between work and life is, for most people, an absurd joke: your life is being invaded, and you have no line of defence to protect yourself. Even if they are thousands of miles from their desk, a worker may still feel chained to it. Text messages and emails can arrive at ungodly hours, demanding prompt replies. Parents may find the nightly ritual of putting their kids to bed is interrupted by a panicked phone call from their boss. Almost as stressful is the idea that, as you collect your belongings to leave the office, you know you can never really leave: somehow, wherever you are, you remain at work.

Here is why the right to disconnect" has become one of the great emancipatory causes for workers, and could be headed for Labour's next manifesto. For example, Portugal introduced a law at the beginning of last year that imposes a legal duty on bosses not to contact their workers outside of defined working hours. There is one exception - circumstances of force majeure - but otherwise, companies could be fined up to 9,690 (8,400). In part, this is a response to the phenomenon of working from home: in Britain, 37% of employees now report working from home at least some point in the previous week. While this trend has been liberating for many workers, the Portuguese authorities found it could be exploited by bosses disregarding the idea that a remote worker ever clocked off.

Owen Jones is a Guardian columnist