This Firm Fines Employees $1,200 If They Disturb Colleagues on Vacation…

A couple takes a sunny vacation (Asad Photo Maldives/ Pexels)

For most workers around the world, vacations are strictly a time to unwind. The last thing they want while relaxing on a balmy beach or hiking in the hills is an annoying business call from a colleague.   

But sadly such calls and urgent work-related requests aren’t all that rare and do end up ruining a long-planned break. An Indian company has a fix for that. 

Employees at Mumbai-based Dream11, which runs a fantasy sports platform, will have to pay a fine of 100,000 rupees (about US$1,200) if they contact a colleague on their time-off, co-founder Bhavit Sheth told CNBC in an interview. The company, founded in 2008, makes it mandatory for workers to take at least a week off annually.

“Once a year, for one week, you’re kicked out of the system,” Sheth told the channel. “You don’t have Slack, emails and calls. Because it helps you greatly to have that one week of uninterrupted time and it helps the business to know whether we’re dependent on anyone.” 

So far, the system has proved effective, according to 36-year-old Sheth. 

“Dream11 believes that this uninterrupted time allows Dreamsters (employees of Dream11) to relax, recharge and come back to work ready to give their best,” the company said in a statement. 

The fine is an eye-catching way to let workers enjoy a quality break. In a bid to retain talent, many other businesses including Goldman Sachs Group Inc. are allowing staff to take unlimited vacations. But a U.K. recruiting firm last year said it was going to scrap that policy after the perk made employees feel guilty and question how many days they were really supposed to take.