What happens when a boss catches an employee freelancing for the company’s own client? Most organisations would reach for a termination letter, but a boss took a different approach. After discovering a junior staff member was secretly side-hustling, the leadership realised the problem wasn’t the employee; it was their own lack of a clear policy. By choosing mentorship over punishment, they transformed a potential HR crisis into a blueprint for a modern, transparent workplace which encourages growth.
“We once caught an employee freelancing for our own client. And we still didn’t fire him. Here’s why: He was a junior, new to the industry, probably didn’t realise how serious this was. So we gave him a warning and asked why he felt the need to hide it,” wrote chief business officer Ashutosh Gupta in a LinkedIn post.
He continued, “He said that he needed extra money. And he felt like it was wrong to freelance on the side. That’s when we realised that the issue was on our side.” Since then, the management decided to allow freelancing, but with “defined boundaries”.
“And we introduced a simple policy with three non-negotiables: No working in the same domain. No reactions, no podcasts, nothing we do. No using our systems, processes, project files or data. No poaching our clients, no reaching out, nothing. It has worked out better than we expected.”
The executive claimed that this policy change has helped the employees grow and learn new things. “One of our editors freelances for Badshah on weekends. Two team members found a UK company through freelancing and eventually moved there. We see that as a fair trade-off. Because in return, our editors learn new skills on their own time, grow creatively outside of work, and stay longer because they don’t feel restricted.”
He added, “You can’t stop employees from freelancing. Ban it, and they either do it anyway or push for higher salaries. So either way, you lose control.”
How did social media react?
An individual wrote, “What’s surprising is… As HR, I’ve seen candidates get rejected just for mentioning freelancing. Not because of lack of skills… but because of control concerns. The future of work isn’t one income stream… It’s multiple. But completely rejecting candidates for freelancing often means losing highly driven, self-starter talent.”
Another added, “Let’s be honest, the majority of business in India is focused on how much time the employee is giving them rather than the quality of work. When this improves, I’m sure they’ll be open to navigating different verticals.”
A third commented, “But it affects the employee’s health. What really happens is they work from 9am-6pm and freelance from 8pm-2am. Have poor sleep. It will also affect their performance in both. It’s better to do a full-time job or to start a business.” Gupta responded, “Well, it’s a personal choice, I believe.”
A fourth posted, “Every company should have these policies. I have heard a strict no to freelancing in interviews, which is absolutely wrong. By defining clear boundaries, people can actually perform better.”
According to LinkedIn, Ashutosh Gupta completed his schooling at St. Xavier’s School, Bathinda, and a bachelor’s in political science from Shaheed Bhagat Singh College. He then earned an LLB degree from Campus Law Centre, Faculty of Law, University of Delhi.
Though he started his career as a social media manager, he now works as the chief business officer for content creation firm Praper Media.