Q: Nowadays, bosses in Britain have to be careful about calling their employees at home, especially after office hours. It seems that they can be sued for invading their employees' privacy. This issue appeared in the paper recently. It also said that even when an employee has agreed to be called at home, his boss should not make "unnecessary or inappropriate calls". I once had such a boss who liked to call me at home to discuss work. I admit that I found him a bit of a nuisance and that my wife sometimes had complained about his frequent calls. But I do not really mind his calls because I realised that he is a nervous person who dislikes having to make decisions. Personally, it is really unnecessary to have such a law as this is not such a big issue, but only common sense. With this law, it will be hard to get employees to work. Bosses cannot even telephone them at home in cases of emergency. I think this law is unfair to bosses and ridiculous. What is your opinion? - MTY, Klang A: I agree with you that calling an employee at home seems to be a simple issue and should therefore be left to one's common sense. Unfortunately, as we often realise, common sense is not so common after all. I also agree that the law in Britain seems to favour employees. However, I believe that there must be a good reason for introducing this law there. Introducing a new law is certainly not a matter that is to be taken lightly. It is introduced only when there is really a need for it. From my experience, most bosses are reasonable. They do not call their employees at home unnecessarily. Remember that bosses, too, value their privacy. However, sad to say, there are a few rotten apples among them who are incapable of knowing when their authority ends and when their employees' rights begin. Consider the atrocious behaviour of this particular sadistic boss who habitually calls his staff at home - purportedly, to discuss some office work. He cares not about the time of the day of his calls. He invades their privacy at will and even jokes about rousing them from their slumber in the late hours of the night. His opening remarks on the telephone are carefully picked to inflict maximum damage. "Eaten already-ah?" is how he begins. If his unfortunate victim has not taken his dinner, he is sure to lose his appetite. And if the call comes after he has taken his dinner, he will definitely suffer a bout of indigestion, not to mention a long, sleepless night. This obnoxious fellow even has the temerity of admonishing his subordinates on the telephone at home - mouthing unprintable, four-letter expletives at the same time. This is how viciously he behaves. He expects his staff to be at his beck and call, 24 hours a day. No wonder, one of his general managers was heard to remark that he literally shivered each time the telephone in his house rang. The English has a saying, An Englishman's home is his castle. Obviously, this boss is not an Englishman. Neither does he subscribe to the same belief. On the contrary, he treats his employees' homes, including the sanctity of their bedrooms, like an extension of his own office. Coming to your case, it is interesting to note that while you did not "really mind" your boss' calls, you have, nevertheless, found him to be "a bit of a nuisance". Equally interesting, too, is your revelation that your wife had complained about his frequent calls. This is exactly what "invasion of privacy" means, except that you were more fortunate in that your boss did not harass you. We are led to believe that common thugs exist only in the backlanes and sewers of society. Unbelievable as it may appear, more loathsome ones actually stalk the corporate corridors of power and wreak untold damage on their unfortunate victims with impunity. If there are laws to protect women from abusive spouses and female employees from lascivious bosses, why should not there be a law to protect an employee's right to his privacy? After all, isn't it one of our national goals to achieve a just society for every citizen irrespective of his station in life? As for your fears, I do not think that anyone in his right sense would sue his boss just because he calls him at home in an emergency.
Reference : Issue on employee's privacy. (2001,December 2008). New Straits Times.
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