Better work: whose business is it?

How much power should employers have over their workers’ lives?

Most countries recognise that employer power needs to be curbed – with governments setting out legal requirements on minimum pay, maximum working hours and paid leave. And governments also intervene to curb worker power – ruling on trade union recognition, who can strike and under what conditions. But should governments intervene between employer and employee on matters such as sending out-of-hours emails, or on whether to pay bonuses?