Employers’ Response To Moonlighting Scenario
Recently, Rishad Premji, Chairman of Wipro tweeted about the moonlight practice – “There is a lot of chatter about people moonlighting in the tech industry. This is cheating – plain and simple.” Not only this, a few days later, Wipro fired around 300 employees for ‘moonlighting’.
In addition, Infosys has also warned their employees about moonlighting by sending out emails that indicated that the practice can even lead to the termination of their employment.
Other IT giants including Tata Consultancy Services (TCS), HCL, etc. have also expressed their views against moonlighting practice or dual employment scenarios.
Although you need to know leading startups like Swiggy are coming out in support of the “Moonlighting” policy for employees.
With the Moonlighting Policy, our goal is to encourage employees to pursue their passion without any constraints due to their full-time employment with us. This is yet another step in our journey towards building a world-class ‘people first’ organization.” Girish Menon, Head of Human Resources at Swiggy.
What is Moonlighting? Is Moonlighting Legal or Illegal?
Moonlighting is one of the hot topics in the gig economy. It has seen a significant rise, especially amidst this WFH model or remote working culture after the global pandemic. There is a lot of debate around the legitimacy of moonlighting in employment sectors. While some people show support for moonlight, some really oppose it. And thus there arise multiple concerns:
- is moonlighting ethical?,
- can you be fired for moonlighting?,
- pros and cons of moonlighting,
- can employers prohibit moonlighting?,
- and many more!
This blog will look at what Moonlighting is, why it is a hot topic today, what are the pros and cons of Moonlighting and whether is it legal in India. Let’s get started!