As remote and hybrid workplaces become the norm, HR professionals are increasingly facing a new challenge: moonlighting. If you’ve ever wondered what to do about employee moonlighting, you’re not alone. Many organizations are now struggling with how to handle moonlighting, especially when an employee logs a few hours and then spends the rest working for another company.
The question of how to handle employee moonlighting goes beyond productivity. It touches on workplace fairness, and in many cases, breach of contract. When left unaddressed, employee moonlighting can damage team morale and set a dangerous precedent for the rest of the team. So, how to deal with employee moonlighting without escalating the issue? Should you discipline, counsel or terminate the employee?
In this Q&A with Jane, our resident HR advisor Jane Harper gives expert tips on how to manage an employee who is moonlighting. She offers practical, step-by-step advice that balances accountability and fairness.
WHAT TO DO ABOUT A MOONLIGHTING EMPLOYEE
A reader writes:
Dear Jane,
I need your advice on handling a tricky situation. We have an employee who is officially meant to work on a split schedule: three hours in the office and the rest from home. However, we’ve recently discovered they are moonlighting for another company during those designated “work from home” hours.
To make matters worse, they only log in briefly towards the end of the day to submit a report that clearly doesn’t reflect a full day’s work. This is creating resentment among their colleagues who put in genuine effort while working from the office all day.
I’m not sure how to approach this without escalating unnecessarily. But I also cannot let this slide so easily. What’s the best course of action? How to handle this employee clearly moonlighting during designated work hours?
JANE’S ADVICE ON HOW TO HANDLE MOONLIGHTING
You’re right to be concerned. What you’re describing isn’t just a performance issue, it’s a matter of integrity, fairness and a breach of contract. It’s the kind of violation that hits you right in the gut. It’s also frustrating to address when the moonlighting starts stirring up resentment among the employees who are showing up fully every day. Let’s break down how to handle employee moonlighting without letting it blow up into a bigger mess.
STEP 1: CONFIRM THE FACTS
First off, you need to confirm the facts. This means you’ll have to really dig in. Before you jump into any tough conversations with the moonlighting employee, make sure you’ve got solid evidence. You can reach out to their direct manager about those missed deadlines or the work. Pull up the login records, check the output quality and all things that are black and white. Without solid evidence, things can get slippery real quick.
STEP 2: REVIEW COMPANY POLICIES
Next up, it’s time to dust off those company policies! You need to go through the employment contract, the code of conduct, and even the remote work guidelines. A lot of companies have rules about exclusivity during work hours, or at least require employees to disclose any side gigs. This is your roadmap for how to handle employee moonlighting in a fair manner.
STEP 3: ADDRESS PERFORMANCE ISSUES
When you’re ready to address it, start with performance rather than the moonlighting itself. Schedule a one-on-one framed as a regular check-in, and focus on the issues: the work hours not adding up, the rushed reports at the end of the day, etc. Give the employee a chance to respond. They might end up revealing underlying factors such as financial pressures, which may lead to a more constructive dialogue between them and the company.
STEP 4: HOW TO HANDLE EMPLOYEE MOONLIGHTING DIRECTLY
If the moonlighting surfaces in the conversation, address it calmly and directly. Explain how it violates trust and company policy. You can now outline next steps based on the severity of the violation. If needed, you can handle employee moonlighting with a warning, performance plan or escalate to disciplinary action.
STEP 5: PROTECT TEAM MORALE WHEN DEALING WITH MOONLIGHTING
It’s tough when need to handle employee moonlighting. You must always remember that consistency reinforces fairness for the whole team. If you overlook, it may end up impacting team morale. When colleagues sense uneven effort, resentment builds. Your best bet is to act decisively while keeping things confidential at the same time.
In my experience, a quick team huddle afterward on shared expectations can ease tensions between colleagues.
Finally, you may use this instance as a preventative opportunity. Strengthen your remote work guidelines with clear rules on side gigs, regular check-ins, and monitoring when necessary. And the most important, you’ll need to terminate this employee if the offense has been serious enough to affect company’s work with clients.
These steps on how to handle employee moonlighting will help protect the company and show employees that you value transparency. You need to approach this with the right balance of care and resolve. Handling employee moonlighting like this not only resolves the issue but strengthens your workplace.
Source – https://www.thehrdigest.com/how-to-handle-an-employee-moonlighting-before-it-becomes-office-gossip/