Employees at Infosys are permitted to work on outside projects with the prior approval of their managers

The term’moonlighting’ is never mentioned in the email because it technically implies dual employment, which is still illegal.

The company’s decision to recognize and enable gig work is a step forward, and it may even set a trend, as a larger debate about moonlighting and employee rights rages on in the IT industry and other white-collar work sectors.

“Any employee who wishes to take up gig work may do so with the prior consent of their manager and BP-HR, and in their personal time, for establishments that do not compete with Infosys or Infosys’ clients,” according to an email sent to employees that Moneycontrol obtained a copy of.

As it happens, the email makes no mention of the term “moonlighting,” which technically implies dual employment, which is still illegal. Instead, the email establishes guidelines that will be followed.

“We count on our employees to ensure that this does not impact their ability to work with Infosys effectively. In addition, as per Infosys employment contract, employees may not work in areas when there is a potential conflict of interest or by accepting dual employment,” the email further said.

Infosys as an organisation values learnability, and that they are supportive of employees taking up additional projects, it added.

It emphasised that employees must take care to ensure that the projects they choose “comply with the company’s policy for gig working, do not breach client contracts, and do not otherwise impact the employee’s ability to be effective in their full-time job with Infosys.”

According to the report, many of these requirements can be met if employees consult with their managers before beginning these projects.

Furthermore, the company stated that it has created internal opportunities for gig work through its Accelerate platform, which allows managers to list gig work jobs that employees can accept. According to Chief Executive Officer Salil Parekh, approximately 4,000 people apply each quarter and 600 are chosen.

Swiggy implemented a moonlighting policy for its employees in August, either for free or for monetary consideration after an internal approval process.

In July, Kotak Institutional Equities conducted a survey of 400 IT/ITeS employees and discovered that 65 percent had either participated in part-time work during a period when most companies were engaged in work-from-home or were aware of a coworker who had.

While announcing the results last week, Parekh stated that the company was working on a policy that would allow employees to work on projects outside of the company. “We are also developing more comprehensive policies for that,” Parekh said at the time, “while ensuring contractual and confidentiality commitments are fully respected.”

He also stated that the company has fired employees in the past for moonlighting. “If the employees are doing blatant work in two specific companies where there are confidentiality issues, we have let go,” he explained.

Moonlighting, according to Tata Consultancy Services, is against its values and culture.

The primary issue, according to Wipro Chief Executive Officer Thierry Delaporte, was a conflict of interest. “We’re fine with someone doing a little extra work here and there.” It’s different if you work for a company in our industry,” he explained.