1 lakh fine in Mumbai firm if employees disturb colleagues during vacation

Vacations are primarily a time for relaxation for the majority of workers around the world. They don't need a bothersome business call from a coworker while taking it easy on a warm beach or exploring the hills.

But regrettably, these calls and urgent work-related requests aren't that uncommon and can disrupt a long-planned break. For that, an Indian business has a solution.

According to co-founder Bhavit Sheth, employees at Mumbai-based Dream11, which operates a fantasy sports platform, would be fined 1 lakh rupees if they communicate with a coworker while they are on vacation. The 2008-founded business requires all employees to take at least one week off a year, NDTV reported.

"Once a year, for one week, you're kicked out of the system," Mr 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."

36-year-old Mr Sheth said that such a system has proved to be effective.

"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 a striking method to allow workers to take a well-deserved break. Many other companies, including Goldman Sachs Group Inc., are enabling staff to take as many vacation days as they want in an effort to keep the top talent. However, a UK recruiting company announced last year that it was scrapping that policy since the benefit made employees feel guilty and made them wonder how many days they were actually supposed to take off.