It seems that the debate on moonlighting in the IT sector is not ending anytime soon as the industry is quite divided over the various aspects of this practice. Now, once again Minister of State for Skill Development, and Electronics and IT Rajeev Chandrasekhar has waded into the debate, saying moonlighting by employees is okay if there is no breach of contract.
Most IT companies, including TCS, Wipro and Infosys, are against this practice where an employee gets involved in dual employment. India’s largest software services firm TCS calls it an “ethical issue” where its employees take up another job while working full-time with the company. Although, the Tata Group firm claimed that it has not taken any action against the employees who were found working simultaneously with rivals as well.
Wipro chairman Rishad Premji confirmed last month that around 300 employees were sacked after being found working for other companies after their regular working hours at the Bengaluru-based IT firm.
Wipro CEO Thierry Delaporte said contracts stipulate not taking up a side job with a competitor. Employees signing up for the company are expected “not only to dedicate time for Wipro but also keep time for themselves and for families,” he added.
India’s second largest IT firm Infosys too has confirmed firing employees who were found working for rivals. On the moonlighting issue, Infosys CEO Salil Parekh said, “If the employees are doing blatant work in two specific companies where there’s confidentiality issues, we have let go them in the past 12 months.”
On the other hand, another IT major Tech Mahindra is okay with the culture.
Amid all this, the IT minister in an interview with Business Today TV said, moonlighting is a trend and the practice will evolve over the years, and more employees may prefer taking jobs as a consultant.
He, however, added that if today, an employee has a contract with an employer and the contract specifically forbids him or her from doing anything unethical or defining what is unethical or what is against the contract, there is no way that individual should violate the contract.
“I want to be very clear on behalf of myself, my Ministry, and the government of India that I will never condone and it’s not a great idea for any employee to start talking about violating a contractual commitment he or she has with the company,” the minister said.
Last month, the minister said youngsters today have every sense of confidence and purpose about monetizing and creating more values to his or her own skills. “So, companies that want to pin their employees down and say you should not work on your own startup are doomed to fail,” he had said at the annual forum of the Public Affairs Forum of India.
