'You want to make sure contracts are up to date for any changing roles,' says Alexandra Shields, citing need for transparency to avoid risks
For someone with not enough money or too much time, a simple solution to their problem is to hold down more than one job.
Recently, the Australian Bureau of Statistics revealed that about 6.5% of workers do just that.
And while the number of workers in multiple jobs fell to 961,000 in the June quarter, a drop of 12,000 over three months, it’s an issue that deserves consideration by HR when it comes to contracts, policies and job descriptions, according to Norton Rose Fulbright partner Alexandra Shields.
Although there may be no legal prohibition on employees having another job, the contractual relationship between the employer and employee sets the boundaries, Shields told HRD.
A contract should be very clear about whether secondary employment is allowed, she said.
Workers who feel the need to sign up with another employer would do well by HR managers to disclose their intention. And that includes volunteer work.
“That way, the organisation has the ability to understand what kind of work the employee might be doing outside of their job,” Shields said. “[They would then have] the ability to influence or to stop the employee doing something that was going to affect their ability to do their job, or affect their ability to damage the interests of the company.”
An employee who splits their time between paymasters may hold a different sense of loyalty to each employer, but they must not be confused about their obligations to each of them, Shields said.
“The most important thing is to have very clear in the employment contract the obligations of the employee to the employer,” she said. “Secondary employment should be viewed in light of those obligations.”
An employment contract must be sufficiently clear so that there can be little confusion, Shields said. A worker’s other job must not conflict with their ability to perform their role, or conflict with their duties and obligations to the company.
“For example, having another job that was with a competing organisation – that would conflict with the interests of the company,” she said. “Or having another job that required the employee to work during ordinary working hours – that would then affect their ability to do their role.”
Things can move quickly at work. An entry level job, say, might become a manager role. If that worker has a secondary job, they will suddenly be eyeing competing career prospects. The primary employer had better be prepared.
“You want to make sure contracts are up to date for any changing roles or there may be enforceability issues,” Shields said. “The [initial] contract then might end the ability for the secondary employment to be reviewed from time to time.”
As a role becomes more intensive or more senior, the obligations in a contract should be relevant to that role, she said. Contracts that are out of date will offer little protection to a primary employer – and might present the worker with a conflict of interest.
“But if a contract is written in such a way that an employee’s obligations continue through the life of the employment or the life of the contract, then it shouldn’t matter that the position has given rise to a conflict that didn’t exist when that permission was first granted,” Shields said. “The fact is, it’s on the employee to acknowledge that the obligation continues.”
Shields said many organisations use secondary employment policies, which can require that permission is sought and granted on a regular or annual basis prior to undertaking any form of secondary work.
Employers should ensure contracts are clear about what constitutes a conflict of interest or duty, such as working for a competitor or during regular work hours, she said.
Workers who declare what’s going on in their professional lives will stay on good terms with the boss, and that might bode well for the future.
“It’s about acting in the best interest of the company and devoting your full time and attention [at work] to the duties of the role,” Shields said. “You shouldn’t be doing anything that acts against the interests of your employer.”
