Written by Helen Vaughan | 22nd February 2023

One job may not be enough for some people, as rising costs continue to hit incomes hard – according to Insurer, Royal London 5.2m workers in the UK have been forced to take a second job to make ends meet, and one in 10 are considering it this year.

Money can be a taboo subject and some employees may be reluctant to open up about looking for more work. You should be aware that working multiple jobs can raise a host of legal, health and safety and wellbeing concerns.

As an employer, it’s natural you will have some questions about the implications of your employees working two jobs. Here’s everything you need to know about your obligations and how you can support your people.

Contracts of employment

It’s not illegal in the UK to work two jobs at the same time, but there may be provisions in your employees Contract of Employment that could prevent employees from taking on additional work without prior permission. In most cases, these clauses would be in place to prevent employees from working with direct competitors, clients, suppliers or other companies that could cause a conflict of interest.

For workers on zero hour contracts or earning below £123 per week, these clauses cannot be enforced.

These Contract clauses typically state that employees must seek permission from you before they take on a second job – whether that be on an employed or self-employed basis, or take on any other role or interest in another business.

Be fair and reasonable

It’s important that you and your managers understand the financial struggles your employees may be going through and are empathetic if your employee comes to you to request permission to take a second job.

If you are asked permission, you should find out all the information you can about the second job and then consider the request carefully before allowing or declining it.

If you suspect an employee is working a second job, discuss this with them, to understand any potential conflicts of interest, and make sure they understand that your ultimate interest and responsibility is to ensure they are supported, can do the job you require them to do, as well as meet their financial obligations.  It is important that they know they can talk to you and seek support, when required.

Ultimately, it’s up to you, the employer, as to whether you enforce the rules in your company’s Contract of Employment. We do, however, recommend you seek HR advice if you have any concerns about managing requests legally and fairly.

Wellbeing and Working Time Regulations

The Working Time Regulations specify that employees must not work over 48 hours per week and are entitled to a minimum rest break of 20 minutes during any working day that exceeds six hours. They also have the right to 11 hours’ rest in a 24 hour period and 24 hours of rest each week.

It is considered the obligation of you, as their main employer, and the secondary employer to ensure that someone isn’t overworking – unless your employee has signed an opt-out agreement to say they are happy to work more than 48 hours. Traditionally opt-out agreements were contained within the Contract of Employment, but we advise that these are a separate document to ensure that opting out is a genuine choice.

Working over 48 hours per week may cause your employee to be tired at work and not perform at their best, which could impact their overall productivity and engagement. Overworking can result in workplace stress, lack of attention and performance issues.

Health and safety implications

You should also consider any health and safety implications within the workplace should someone become tired and overworked. They could make more mistakes which may pose a risk to themselves or others.

If you see signs of ill health or safety risks and identify it is connected to working their two jobs, you and your employee should take steps to address this. This may involve speaking to them about the impact the second job is having on their day to day performance and discussing ways to avoid this continuing.  For example, you could discuss reducing their hours or changing their working pattern.

How can you support your employees?

Money stress and worries are among the biggest concerns for employees right now. You may already be doing more to support your people, but here are a few suggestions to consider putting in place:

  • Implement a financial wellbeing policy and provide financial education to your employees;
  • Review your employee benefits and determine if you can increase your offering
  • Support employee progression and development through training
  • Increase support for mental health and wellbeing, through the provision of Employee Assistance Programmes or access to Mental Health First Aiders;
  • Embrace flexible working, where possible

Here at Reality HR, we can offer a host of information and ways to help you support your people. We have more information on these subjects in our blog – click on the links in the text above to read more.

If you wish to talk to a member of our team to find out how we can help you support your employees through any of our HR Outsourcing services, or if you have any concerns regarding employees having second jobs, please contact us at info@realityhr.co.uk.