There isn’t a denying that the UK is submerged in a value of residing disaster, with Shelter reporting a rise of 45% (since April 2022) in renters being behind with, or persistently struggling to pay, their lease (a rise to virtually 2.5 million renters). It’s no shock that many are turning to second (and even third) jobs to try to enhance their earnings.
Getting one other earnings stream in itself might trigger potential points when it comes to time (and lack of it for household and your family members) and elevated tiredness, in addition to the dearth of any work-life steadiness, however some may even see no different choice than to tackle one other job.
Nonetheless, additional issues might happen when your new earnings stream impacts your present job, and never simply due to your tiredness and lack of vitality.
May your new earnings stream, taken on to assist preserve your head above water, really put you in jeopardy of shedding your principal earnings?
Attainable implications of taking further jobs
As an worker, you’ll have each categorical and implied phrases inside your contract of employment that, if breached, might deliver your employment to an instantaneous finish and, in some instances, imply that you must pay your employer.
Implied phrases embody an obligation of constancy (as established in Faccenda Hen Ltd v Fowler [1986] 3 WLR 288) which, in fundamental phrases, implies that the worker should act in good religion and never compete with their employer.
It could make sense so that you can tackle one other job in your ability set and in the same trade to your principal position, not least as a result of you possibly can capitalise in your experience and expertise. Nonetheless, this might fairly simply imply that you’re competing along with your present employer and are due to this fact susceptible to being dismissed for a breach of your contract.
This implied time period does go additional, however right here I’ve highlighted the methods during which it could possibly be breached (possibly even innocently) by taking on a second job.
Categorical phrases are prone to be extra apparent and workers ought to be extra conscious of them as they are going to be said of their contract.
I focus on under a number of the most typical categorical phrases of an employment contract that will trigger points when taking up a second position, however the primary one to look out for must be an categorical clause stating that the worker can’t work for anybody else whereas employed by the employer (normally with out their consent or approval). It is a frequent clause inside employment contracts. This may increasingly appear apparent, however it’s shocking how rapidly you overlook all of the clauses you signal as much as as soon as you might be in a job. How many people really return and evaluation our employment contracts often?
Employment contracts, particularly these for extra senior roles, may embody a clause that states the worker should commit the entire of their time, consideration and skills to the enterprise. Working for an additional employer, even when it’s not a competing enterprise, might breach this clause. If you’re working for another person, can you actually be devoting your entire time and a focus to your principal employer?
For some roles, workers may have restrictive covenants (also called post-termination restrictions) and these will prohibit what they can do each throughout their employment and after their employment ends. These are prone to embody clauses that forestall the worker from poaching employees and shoppers from their employer, however might trigger the worker issues in the event that they tackle a second position which means they’re coping with their principal employer’s shoppers or clients and suppliers, as these are prone to be protected by the restrictive covenants. A breach of those covenants might be very expensive, each in defending any authorized motion and injunction but additionally in damages. This might result in the worker shedding their second job (by way of an injunction) in addition to their principal job and result in them paying damages and authorized charges (one thing which may be unattainable when the very cause they’ve taken the second job is to assist their monetary state of affairs).
In the end, taking up that further earnings will not be all that easy and might trigger you to lose your principal earnings and worsen your monetary circumstances.
