HR clamps down after catching WFH employee juggling two full-time jobs

Side hustles. Second jobs. Whatever you call them, they've soared in popularity in recent years. Some people have unfortunately had little choice but to seek extra work due to the cost-of-living crisis, while others have voluntarily sought out more work to generate higher income, or monetise their hobbies.

And for the most part, embracing your employees’ side hustles can bring huge benefits to the workplace. Workers can cross over cultural insights and different skills between their different roles.

For example, an employee who spends their weekends coaching a football team can bring delegation and leadership skills to the office.

However, complications arise when an employee’s multiple working lives start to clash – the most recent example being that of a council worker who was sacked after bosses discovered they had been working two full-time jobs at the same time.

The unnamed worker was employed by Birmingham City Council but was found to have exploiting their remote working arrangements by moonlighting in another full-time role with the NHS.

The case was brought to light because the worker had had wrongly claimed one role was “casual” and as such was not paying the full income tax that they should have owed on two full-time roles.

Neurodiverse worker's poor timekeeping led to unfair sacking, judge rules

Neurodiversity has always been a huge issue for HR to consider, but awareness around the matter has rightfully grown in the past few years.

Neurodiversity Celebration Week recently took place, and provided a timely reminder that those in the people function must continue to challenge the stereotypes and misconceptions about neurological differences.

Unfortunately, the week coincided with news coming out of an employment tribunal, about a neurodiverse employee was sacked because their condition made it difficult for them to get to work on time.

Security guard Raymond Joseph Bryce said he had been discriminated against after he told bosses about his struggles with dyslexia and Asperger’s Syndrome, which meant he was frequently 'disorganised' and that he often misread his alarm clock in the morning, resulting in him being late to work.

Bryce's claims of discrimination and unfair dismissal were upheld by an employment tribunal, with the panel concluding his conditions made it difficult for him to maintain the organisation levels of a neurotypical employee.