One of the things France has been so very proud of itself for is that it not only brought into force the maximum 35 hour working week required under the EU's Working Time Directive (no one else did) but actively enforced it with squads of inspectors checking how long employees' cars were in office car parks. France has, however, admitted that it didn't work. But even so, why was it necessary to pass a law to say that employees have a legal right to refuse to answer office phone calls, deal with messages including instant messaging and emails out of office hours? Isn't that common sense?

Harvey Andrews: The Pocket Song