Employment legislation and the price of dwelling disaster

There is no such thing as a denying that the UK is submerged in a value of dwelling disaster, with Shelter reporting a rise of 45% (since April 2022) in renters being behind with, or persistently struggling to pay, their hire (a rise to nearly 2.5 million renters). It’s no shock that many are turning to second (and even third) jobs to attempt to enhance their earnings.  

Getting one other earnings stream in itself could trigger potential points when it comes to time (and lack of it for household and your family members) and elevated tiredness, in addition to the shortage of any work-life stability, however some might even see no different possibility than to tackle one other job. 

Nevertheless, additional issues could happen when your new earnings stream impacts your current job, and never simply due to your tiredness and lack of vitality. 

Might your new earnings stream, taken on to assist hold your head above water, really put you in jeopardy of dropping your principal earnings? 

Potential implications of taking further jobs 

As an worker, you’ll have each categorical and implied phrases inside your contract of employment that, if breached, might carry your employment to a right away finish and, in some instances, imply that you must pay your employer. 

Implied phrases embody an obligation of constancy (as established in Faccenda Hen Ltd v Fowler [1986] 3 WLR 288) which, in primary phrases, signifies that the worker should act in good religion and never compete with their employer.  

It will make sense so that you can tackle one other job in your ability set and in the same business to your principal position, not least as a result of you’ll be able to capitalise in your experience and expertise. Nevertheless, this might fairly simply imply that you’re competing along with your current employer and are subsequently vulnerable to being dismissed for a breach of your contract. 

This implied time period does go additional, however right here I’ve highlighted the methods during which it may very well be breached (possibly even innocently) by taking over a second job. 

Categorical phrases are prone to be extra apparent and workers needs to be extra conscious of them as they are going to be acknowledged of their contract. 

I focus on beneath a number of the most typical categorical phrases of an employment contract that will trigger points when taking over a second position, however the primary one to look out for needs to be an categorical clause stating that the worker can’t work for anybody else whereas employed by the employer (often with out their consent or approval). This can be a frequent clause inside employment contracts. This will appear apparent, however it’s stunning how rapidly you overlook all of the clauses you signal as much as as soon as you’re in a job. How many people really return and overview our employment contracts repeatedly? 

Employment contracts, particularly these for extra senior roles, can also embody a clause that states the worker should commit the complete of their time, consideration and skills to the enterprise. Working for an additional employer, even when it isn’t a competing enterprise, might breach this clause. If you’re working for another person, can you actually be devoting your complete time and a spotlight to your principal employer? 

For some roles, workers can also have restrictive covenants (also called post-termination restrictions) and these will prohibit what they’re able to do each throughout their employment and after their employment ends. These are prone to embody clauses that stop the worker from poaching workers and purchasers from their employer, however might trigger the worker issues in the event that they tackle a second position meaning they’re coping with their principal employer’s purchasers or prospects and suppliers, as these are prone to be protected by the restrictive covenants. A breach of those covenants could be very expensive, each in defending any authorized motion and injunction but additionally in damages. This might result in the worker dropping their second job (via an injunction) in addition to their principal job and result in them paying damages and authorized charges (one thing which may be not possible when the very purpose they’ve taken the second job is to assist their monetary scenario). 

In the end, taking over that further earnings is probably not all that easy and might trigger you to lose your principal earnings and worsen your monetary circumstances.