Moonlighting: Staff can’t take up work that’s against company’s interests, says Govt
Contents News/Article Date: 20th December 2022
Relating to which Act: The Information Technology Act 2020, Indian Contract Act 1872, The Industrial Disputes Act, 1947; The Industrial Employment Standing Orders Act, 1946; The Contract Labour (Regulation & Abolition) Act 1970; The Inter-State Migrant workmen (Regulation of Employment and Conditions of Service) Central Rules, 1980; The Trade Unions Act, 1926; The Industrial Disputes Act of 1947
Applicable to which State: All the establishments in the States as per applicability of the Acts.
Type: Newspaper report and survey report
Pertains to employers and employees, especially in the IT and ITeS Industry
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In the earlier instance, Cognizant experienced an attrition rate of 6 percent by the end of September in the quarter of the fiscal year 2022. The attrition rates include the employees who have been handed pink slips due to failed background checks.
In the recent past concerning Amazon in Karnataka, Amazon India’s public policy manager had been summoned by the Labour Ministry following a complaint by the employee union Nascent Information Technology Employees Senate (NITES) alleging a violation of labour laws.
Earlier week in this instance, The Bharatiya Mazdoor Sangh which is a trade union in India has also asked the government to involve trade unions in social development goals, in the absence of which it has threatened to take further actions against the government in view of the report that Big Industries don’t observe uniform labour standards in India.
In this instance last week, IT companies also feared that the flexibility that comes with working from home will enable more employees to moonlight.
- Moonlighting or dual employment — either part- or full-time — is not new, but the remote work model preferred by the Indian IT sector has helped employees take up this option in larger numbers.
- HCL Tech is encouraging employees to return to office three days a week, its chief people officer Ramachandran Sundararajan had said earlier.
- Infosys, on the other hand, is exploring a flexible work-from-office approach with no fixed days.
In this week on Friday 20th December 2022 – The government said staff can’t take on work that’s against the interests of their employers in addition to their jobs, clarifying the law as a debate rages over moonlighting in India’s tech industry.
As per the Industrial Employment (Standing Orders) Act, 1946, a workman shall not at any time 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 Rameswar Teli said in a written reply in response to a question in the Lok Sabha on moonlighting on Monday.
He was replying to a question on whether the government considers moonlighting to be a valid reason for firing employees.No specific information is available to indicate that layoffs are happening due to moonlighting,” the minister of state said.
IT Sector Red-flagged Cases – He added that the government had not conducted any study on moonlighting in the country. Karma Global does a lot of work on HR Services which includes grievance handling, layoffs, retrenchments, disputes and litigations.
Subject: Moonlighting: Staff can’t take up work that’s against company’s interests, says govt
For greater details, appended below is the complete news item
Employees Cannot Moonlight as Per Rule: Labour Minister in Parliament
Minister of State for Labour & Employment Rameshwar Teli stated that the jurisdiction on moonlighting lies with the respective state governments.
New Delhi: A worker shall not take any type of work against the interest of an employer in addition to his or her job as per the legal framework, but the government is not taking up any study on the issue, Parliament was informed on Monday.
When a full-time employee of a company takes up an extra job, usually without the employer’s knowledge, it is called moonlighting.
The issue has been in public discourse especially among IT professionals as some of them reportedly resorted to moonlighting during the Covid pandemic.
“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 to Lok Sabha.
Rameshwar Teli was replying to a question that whether the government considers moonlighting to be an efficient reason for firing employees.
About the question that whether the government has observed that lay-offs are happening as a result of moonlighting, Rameshwar Teli stated, “Employment and retrenchment including lay-offs are a regular phenomenon in industrial establishments. No specific information is available to indicate that lay-offs are happening due to moonlight.” On a question that if the government has undertaken any study on moonlighting in the country, the minister replied, “No, sir.”
About the question that whether the government has instructed companies not to fire employees as a result of moonlighting, the minister stated that the jurisdiction in the matters with regard to multinational and Indian companies in the IT, social media, edtech firms, and related sectors lie with the respective state governments.
However, he told the House that matters relating to lay-off and retrenchment in industrial establishments are governed by the provisions of the Industrial Disputes Act, 1947 (ID Act) which also regulates various aspects of lay-off and conditions precedent to retrenchment of workmen.
As per the ID Act, establishments employing 100 persons or more are required to seek prior permission of the appropriate government before effecting closure, retrenchment, or lay-off, he stated.
Further, he stated that any retrenchment and lay-off are deemed to be illegal, which is not carried out as per the provisions of the ID Act.
The ID Act also provides for the right of workmen laid off and retrenched for compensation and it also contains the provision for the re-employment of retrenched workmen. Based on their respective jurisdictions as demarcated in the ID Act, central and state governments take actions to address the issues of the workmen and protect their interests as per the provision of the Act.
In the establishments that lie in the jurisdiction of the central government, the Central Industrial Relations Machinery (CIRM) is entrusted with the task of maintaining good industrial relations and protecting the interest of workers including on matters relating to lay-off and retrenchment and their prevention, he stated.
The minister also apprised the House that employment and retrenchment including lay-offs are a regular phenomenon in industrial establishments and no specific information is available to indicate that lay-offs are happening due to moonlighting