What can be done about moonlighting?

With the cost of living crisis ongoing, more and more people are considering taking a second job (or third, or fourth, for some) to make up the shortfall at the end of the week or month. As an employer, should this be a concern to you, and is there anything you can do to restrict the amount, or kind, of extra work your employees take on?

With limits on working hours, it is important that employers keep accurate records of their employees’ working hours; and to take steps to prevent the employee from working more than 48 hours (unless they have opted out of the cap). Even where employees have opted out of the cap, employers need to keep accurate records and do what they can to ensure that employees are getting adequate breaks from work.

Employers also need to consider the issues of conflicts and competition. Clearly, if an employee is doing work for someone else (or for their own business) during the hours they are contracted to work for their employer, they could be in breach of their employment contract.

Blake Morgan Associate Madeleine Mould considers the wide range of issues arising out of moonlighting in an article first published in the Reward Strategy digital magazine issue 241.

Read the article in full here.