Infosys has shot off a missive to its workers, asserting that twin employment or ‘moonlighting’ will not be permitted, and has warned that any violation of contract clauses will set off disciplinary motion “which could even lead to termination of employment”.
“No two timing – no moonlighting!” India’s second largest IT providers firm stated in a powerful and agency message to workers on Monday.
Put merely, moonlighting refers to workers taking on aspect gigs to work on a couple of job at a time.
Infosys’ inner communication titled “no double lives” makes it clear that “dual employment is not permitted as per…Employee Handbook and Code of Conduct”.
It additionally cites the related clause within the supply letter to drive residence the purpose.
“Any violation of these clauses will lead to disciplinary action which could even lead to termination of employment,” the mail stated.
An e mail despatched by PTI to Infosys for feedback didn’t elicit a response.
“Moonlighting is a practice of working on a second job during the normal business hours/outside business hours. Infosys as a company strictly discourages dual employment,” in line with the mailer.
The firm has urged managers to sensitise their groups on twin employment and the “consequences” of moonlighting.
“You are expected to immediately report any instances of moonlighting to your respective unit HR,” Infosys stated.
The transfer comes at a time when the problem of moonlighting by tech professionals has ignited a recent debate, polarising opinions and elevating thorny authorized questions throughout the trade.
With the vexed problem now within the highlight, some trade watchers have been cautioning that employers could think about additional safeguards to guard proprietary data and working fashions, particularly the place workers are working remotely.
Companies, analysts have stated, may additionally flip more durable on exclusivity clauses in employment contracts.
While the follow of moonlighting emerged as an enormous speaking level after Wipro chairman Rishad Premji flagged the problem, equating it to “cheating”, the voices and opinions throughout the trade have been relatively divided.
Nascent Information Technology Employees Senate (NITES), a Pune-based union, has strongly condemned the “threatening email” despatched by Infosys to workers. It has argued that moonlighting “is not feasible” for a lot of causes.
“Aadhaar card and PAN card are now mandatory for joining any company. The government has also linked the Aadhaar card to the Employees Provident Fund account and each employee has a unique Universal Account Number (UAN) for the provident fund,” Harpreet Singh Saluja, president of NITES, stated, including it’s not potential for 2 firms to submit an worker’s provident fund contribution in a single month.
Further, NITES stated workers within the IT sector are working underneath stress to satisfy deadlines.
“IT employees are working more than nine hours a day without any overtime benefits. Would there be any energy or time left if an employee is working 10-12 hours a day,” it quipped.
Also, many IT firms have developed monitoring programs to measure worker’s productiveness, the union contended.
Terming such worker mailers on moonlighting as “illegal and unethical” and associated contract clauses as arbitrary, NITES emphasised “what the employees do outside working hours is their prerogative”.
