Big Debate on Moonlighting
WHAT'S HAPPENING ?
In the June quarter, the net hiring for the top three IT firms, Wipro, Infosys and Tata Consultancy Services (TCS), exceeded 50,000.
Despite concerns of an impending global recession, there hasn't been a significant moderating of recruiting targets for the entire fiscal year, according to the industry.
While the hiring boom has encouraged tech workers, concern lines have started to form among IT employers regarding previously unheard-of turnover rates, growing labour expenses, and problems like moonlighting.
WHAT IS MOONLIGHTING ?
The practice of working for one organisation while also taking up extra responsibilities and jobs, typically without the employer's knowledge, is referred to as moonlighting.
It is called so the side employment is typically performed at night or on the weekends. Most private organisations have policies in place that prohibit this and take strict actions against the employees taking up outside gigs.
However, some firms allow employees to work a second job, especially if they are on a contract basis.
WHY DO PEOPLE NEED 2 JOBS ?
The second job often comes in handy for employees if their income in the primary work is low and they need additional resources
to meet their everyday needs. In some cases, a person might consider parallel employment to upskill and pursue a job profile that fuels their passion.
In certain cases, people have additional time in hand. If their primary work does not keep them occupied throughout the day, they want to put those free hours to good use.
IS IT LEGAL IN INDIA ?
A person may work more than one job in India without breaking the law.
Moonlighting could be considered cheating if an employee's contract calls for non-compete and single employment, which is the situation with the majority of conventional employment contracts. However, it is not cheating if the employment contracts do not have such a clause or provide relaxations.
Under the Factories Act, dual employment is prohibited.
"As per the Labour Law in India, if you are fully employed, you cannot have your own business or even work elsewhere. However, people have found ways to circumvent this."
INFOSYS WARNING ?
According to the IT company, the shift to remote work has led to a rise in moonlighting.
The email sent out by HR said that it has become easier, especially for IT employees, to hold a second job without their primary employer knowing.
"This can pose serious challenges to our business such as impact on productivity, job performance, risk of data and confidential information leakage, etc," it read.
Infosys' offer letter states that an employee cannot take up full-time or part-time employment in any business activity without the consent of the firm.
Any violation of the clause could lead to termination.
HAS THERE BEEN A RISE IN MOONLIGHTING ?
The IT sector has seen a spike in this practice.
A survey by Kotak Institutional Equities of 400 IT/ITES employees in July revealed that 65% of respondents either were engaged in part time opportunities during work from home (WFH) or knew a colleague who was.
IS MOONLIGHTING ETHICAL ?
The IT sector is divided when it comes to moonlighting. Some call it unethical while others believe it is the need of the hour.
Mohandas Pai, however, disagrees with Premji on the issue. The former director of Infosys does not consider moonlighting "cheating".
"Employment is a contract between an employer who pays me for working for them for 'n' number of hours a day. Now what I do after that time is my freedom, I can do what I want."
DOES ANY INDIAN FIRM ENCOURAGE IT ?
Yes. Food delivery giant Swiggy introduced a moonlighting policy for its employees in August, which allowed them to take up external projects.
This could include activity outside of office hours or on weekends that does not impact their productivity on the full-time job or have a conflict of interest with Swiggy's business in any way.
