Creating an Outside Employment (Moonlighting) Policy

Key points to include

Your outside employment policy should be very clear, especially in terms of defining expectations.

Here are a few items to define up front:

• Does the outside employment policy apply to all employees, regardless of full-time or part-time status?
• What actually qualifies as outside employment?
  • Address potentially debatable jobs like helping out a family business, mowing yards, nannying, freelancing, etc.
  • You may mention that illegal activity is an absolute “no.”

Once clarifying the basics, it’s time to go over expectations. Generally speaking, the policy should emphasize that outside work shouldn’t interfere with employees’ ability to fulfill their job requirements. Your policy should:

• Promote employee well-being above all (i.e., the risk of tiredness, stress, burnout, etc.)
• Ensure that there will be no scheduling issues
• Set limitations to acceptable outside jobs — like working for competitors or violating other conflicts of interest
• Define rules related to use of company resources to perform the job

Finally, you’ll want to go over any procedures that must be followed related to outside employment:

• How employees can obtain advance approval, if required
• When/how to disclose outside employment
• How issues or conflicts will be addressed

Why it matters

Once you’ve addressed all the pieces above, you’ll be in a good place to think about the actual intention of the policy. You’ll want to START your outside employment policy with why it matters. This is particularly important since the policy involves regulating employees’ time while off-the-clock. That said, the key message should be that the employee can maintain their productivity, enabling business continuity.

For example, you might introduce your policy like this:

We know that our employees have interests and hobbies outside of working for us, and this sometimes includes working other jobs. When it comes to outside employment, we are committed to your well-being above all. For your own continued success here, along with our need to keep the company running smoothly, it is important that outside work does not interfere with your role with us.

What’s trending

The gig economy doesn’t seem to be changing anytime soon. If you don’t allow employees to work outside jobs, they will find another primary employer who does. You could lose some of your most motivated and productive employees by prohibiting outside employment. If it’s not affecting the employee’s performance or the business, let it be. Life circumstances may have an unexpected financial burden that isn’t being met by one job alone.

Consider why the employee relies on the additional income. Is there a way your company can help the employee meet these needs? For example, maybe there’s an opportunity for more hours or occasional overtime work. If it’s a matter of the employee’s desire to acquire a new skill, it’s important they’re aware of continuing education or professional development opportunities. Maybe there is an opportunity for help through the employee assistance program (EAP).

Rather than making it all about you and your company’s needs, dig a bit deeper and see if there are opportunities to help address the employee’s needs.

Additional notes

Make it easy for employees to access related policies, such as:

• Employee Assistance Program (EAP)
• Professional Development / Continuing Education
• Conflict of Interest
• Confidentiality
• Remote Work

While you’re perfecting your handbook, check out some other Blissbook content focused on policy creation:

• How to Write Policies & Procedures
• How to Write a Culture-First Employee Handbook