In news– Food delivery start-up Swiggy recently announced an industry-first “moonlighting” policy of allowing its employees to take up gigs or projects outside of their regular employment at the company, during the hours away from work.
About moonlighting policy-
- Moonlighting is the act of working at an extra job beyond regular working hours, usually without the knowledge of the employer.
- Since the side job was mostly at nighttime or on weekends, it was referred to as moonlighting.
- The term gained popularity when workers in the US started seeking a second job beyond their regular 9-to-5 work for additional income.
Swiggy’s moonlighting policy-
- Swiggy has said that along with a full-time job at Swiggy, employees will be allowed to pick up additional projects outside work and the company will support them.
- For this purpose, the gigs or temporary work will be categorised.
- It has divided the projects into two buckets A & B. List A projects are highly-sensitive, leveraging professional know-how.
- List B are projects that fall under the space of interests and hobbies, that are non-professional in nature.
- According to the policy, projects that are picked up for economic consideration and/or fall under List A will need to be declared by the employee, and they can be taken up only if they are approved by Swiggy.
Why do people moonlight, and is it legal?
- The main reason for going above and beyond an existing job is earning more money.
- Additionally, working in a different role can allow a person to develop new skills, explore related domains and connect with more people.
- In India, private companies usually do not allow holding multiple jobs.
- Shops and Establishment Acts of various states restrict double employment as well but vary in application especially when it comes to highly-specialised industries.
Source: The Indian Express
