Tue Feb 17

A worker was sacked over his side hustle. Here are 5 tips for employees with second gigs

Written by: Kerry Brown, Professor of Employment and Industry, School of Business and Law, Edith Cowan University

A recent case ^[1] before the Fair Work Commission has revealed the limits of being able to work a second job when you are employed full time.

An employee was sacked for holding a second job, which he says he had fully disclosed to his employer. The worker took his case to the Fair Work Commission, claiming he was unfairly dismissed by his employer.

Dismissal is the termination for a breach of conditions of employment. An employee may go to the Fair Work Commission and make a claim of “unfair dismissal”. The commission then considers the legal aspects of the situation and makes a decision ^[2] or ruling on the merits of the case.

The Fair Work Commission ruled the dismissal was not unfair, citing two key points:

the employee was running a side business in an area similar to their main job
running their own business caused the employee to spend his normal work time on his second job.

When is it OK to run a side hustle?

Some employers do not allow employees to hold a second job or run a side business, and include this requirement in the letter of offer for a new job.

Others specify an employee must ask permission to hold a second job. The employer can then decide if the other job may affect the worker’s safety and wellbeing. This includes being too tired to do your main job, or if it creates competition with their business.

Second jobs can take various forms ranging from formal to informal jobs.

A side job is a formal type of employment and usually has regulated times for work and required tasks. These can be jobs such as working in restaurants and bars or teaching classes in the evening after normal daytime working hours.

A side hustle ^[3] is an informal activity from which you earn money and is undertaken alongside your full-time job.

This might be in the gig economy or an online business ^[4].

Side hustles are entrepreneurial and flexible and can be as simple as turning a hobby or interest into a paid gig, such as selling refurbished furniture, playing in a band, dog walking or teaching yoga in your spare time.

Practical tips to avoid crossing the line

1) Read your letter of offer when you started your job. If it contains a statement prohibiting you from taking on a side hustle, you cannot undertake a second job.

If your letter of offer states you need to ask permission to take on a side hustle, let your employer know.

2) Make sure your side hustle doesn’t operate in competition to your main job.

3) As an employee, your loyalty to your employer matters. Taking on a side hustle may take your attention and support away from the main business that is paying you.

4) Your side job can’t spill over into your main job. There is a reasonable expectation you will totally focus on your full-time job during your agreed working hours.

5) It is not just your employer’s time that can’t be used: you should not use any of your employer’s resources to carry out your side hustle, either.

How many hours do people work in their second job?

While it’s hard to separate out data just on side hustles, the Australian Bureau of Statistics reports ^[5] almost 1 million people hold more than one job. That’s out of a workforce of 10 million full-time workers.

The bureau says employees with multiple jobs worked about eight hours each week in their second job, and they worked slightly fewer hours than single job holders, putting in around 30.5 hours a week in their main job.

These figures ^[6] may be the tip of the iceberg, because multiple job holders include people with second jobs, as well as side hustle workers.

Motivations for the side hustle or side job

An increase in the number of people holding multiple jobs over the past five years has mirrored the increase in cost of living, especially driven by higher housing prices.

The rise of the side hustle has also been attributed ^[7] to the greater use of digital platforms, such as ride share, food delivery and holiday homes, and the consequent highly flexible work options created by the gig economy.

While financial issues loom large in why people have second jobs, other reasons include:

Some employers allow their employees to take on side gigs so they don’t lose them ^[8], and to give them increased motivation ^[9] for their main jobs.

So if your passion project, great idea or hobby can be converted to a paid side hustle – and you can do it in your own time around your main job without creating competition with your employer – there should be a clear path for you to try something different.