Clearing its stand on the legality of moonlighting by employees, the government has said that workers can’t take any extra work against the interest of their employers.
Moonlighting is a scenario in which an employee works more than one job. Usually, the moonlighting employee has one full-time job and one part-time job.
“As per the Industrial Employment (Standing Orders) Act 1946, a workman shall not at any time (type of) work against the interest of the industrial establishment in which he is employed and shall not take any employment in addition to his job in the establishment, which may adversely affect the interest of his employer,” Minister of State for Labour & Employment Rameshwar Teli said in a written reply in the Lok Sabha.
Teli said this in response to BJP MP Sumalatha Ambareesh’s query on whether the government considers moonlighting to be a good reason for a company to sack employees.
“Employment and retrenchment including lay-offs are a regular phenomenon in industrial establishments. No specific information is available to indicate that layoffs are happening due to moonlighting,” Teli further said.
