Their instincts may not be wrong. Post-pandemic remote work has quietly created a loophole that many, like Parekh, have exploited to hold down several gigs at once.
Unfortunately for disgruntled bosses, employment experts say there’s no law outright prohibiting holding down multiple jobs at once—at least not in the U.S. or UK.
Nicolas Lakeland, an employment law Partner, Laytons tells Fortune “it depends on what the contract of employment says but most full-time contracts of employment will have a clause which says that an employee will devote their ‘their whole time and attention’ to their work and not have alternative employment outside of that.”
The reason for this, he adds, is usually to stop employees working for competitors. “But also they want their employees to turn up on a Monday morning and be able to work productively.”
So, the burden is mostly on employers to protect themselves. And with “overemployment” being a very new issue, they’ll need to check the scope of the restrictions in their contracts—and police it.
“In short, it is legal to do this in the US,” Peter Rahbar, employment attorney, workplace issues expert and founder of The Rahbar Group, echoes. “The key consideration for employees is whether their employer has a policy, or there is a provision in their offer letter or employment agreement that would prohibit holding other employment.”
Before accepting secret side jobs, Rahbar says employees should look into whether they “present a conflict of interest, or are competitive with, the primary job.” If the answer is yes, he’d “strongly advise that the employee not move forward, as it could present additional legal issues.”
For employers, Rahbar recommends moonlighting policies—and outright prohibiting “other employment” in contracts. But on a more human level, he suggests paying employees well. “Most employees take other jobs for money, not intellectual curiosity,” he adds.
“Last, managers should make sure to communicate frequently with their employees, this will not only help build trust and achieve team goals, but reduces the opportunity to do other work,” Rahbar adds.
Just as there is no outright federal law preventing workers from holding down multiple gigs, there’s no law protecting that right either. “It would also not be illegal for an employer to fire the employee if it found out,” employment lawyer Tom Spiggle from The Spiggle Law Firm highlights.
Where workers could land on the wrong side of the law is if they share confidential information from one company with another, or work for a competitor.
“In that situation, the employee could be legally liable in some states for interfering with the initial employer’s business,” Spiggle explains. “The fancy legal term is ‘interference with prospective business advantage.’”
There are also tighter legal restrictions for those working for the federal government and some government contractors, particularly in the defense space. But in most cases, he says workers would simply be in breach of their contract, and while they could be “subject to monetary damages,” the most likely scenario would be they just get sacked.
Lewis Maleh, CEO of executive recruitment agency Bentley Lewis, says he’s seen multiple workers dismissed for this exact reason. “If someone is doing a full-time perm job and being paid accordingly, they should not be doing another full-time perm role unless the company is OK with it,” he says. “I don’t think it’s ethical and will cost you down the road if you get found out.”
Even if the work is getting done, Maleh says employers care because:
“It’s short-term financial gain and potential long-term career suicide,” he concluded. “Always be honest… The recruitment world is small, especially in senior roles, and it could impact references for years.”
If that second or third job really is that important to your livelihood, the safest bet is bringing it up with your employer right away.
As Lakeland says: “There is nothing stopping an employee from negotiating a variation to their contract, but that means being open, honest, and upfront about what you want to do and asking the employer’s permission.”
