According to a recent report by "Rule of Law", recently, the topic of "whether it is right or wrong to do a side hustle for workers" has aroused heated discussions in the society. According to the "2022 Employment Relationship Trend Report" jointly released by the National School of Development of Peking University and a well-known recruitment platform, there are 53Nine percent of workers are working part-time. Another survey report shows that in 2022, there will be 591% of white-collar workers are engaged in side hustles, up from 32 in 20211%。The reporter interviewed and found that many young people in the workplace were "gossiped" by leaders or colleagues because they did side jobs, and were snubbed, deducted performance, reduced salaries and even forced to resign.
There are many reasons why white-collar workers in the workplace choose to "go to work to engage in the main business and get off work to engage in the side business", for example, many young people face a lot of uncertainties in their career development, believing that the development of a side hustle and "walking on two legs" can combat uncertainty and increase income;Some young people like to pursue novelty, experience, want to try new careers, enrich life experiences, and so on.
With the development of the digital economy and new business forms, the flexibility of employment has been continuously improved, new employment methods have been emerging, and more and more forms and types of part-time and sideline jobs have been engaged in by workers, and there are many labor dispute cases arising therefrom. Is it legal for a worker with a main job to work part-time?What is the boundary of the employer's restriction on employees' part-time employment?Does the employer have the right to fire an employee who works part-time outside the home?
From the perspective of the employer, after signing the labor contract with the employee, the employee actually contributes value to others, even if it does not affect the main business, he does not want to see such a situation. From the perspective of workers, they often think that part-time side hustles are to use the off-duty time and not delay the main business.
Objectively speaking, "small fights" such as setting up a stall after work, writing copywriting and submitting articles, etc., may not have a serious impact on the main business, but in fact, most side hustles often require long-term and stable time and energy to do well, and it is difficult not to affect people's concentration on the main business.
From a legal point of view, although China's law does not prohibit employees from engaging in part-time work, it also has certain restrictions. According to the provisions of the Labor Contract Law, a worker engaged in part-time employment may enter into a labor contract with one or more employers;However, the labor contract concluded later shall not affect the performance of the labor contract concluded earlier. If an employee establishes an employment relationship with another employer at the same time, which has a serious impact on the completion of the work tasks of the employer, or refuses to make corrections upon the employer's request, the employer may terminate the labor contract.
It can be seen that there are legal risks in part-time jobs and side hustles. In addition, if the employment contract clearly stipulates clauses such as prohibiting part-time employment or sideline work, or if the employee's sideline or part-time job has caused substantial damage to the interests of the employer, the employer may take punitive measures such as salary reduction or dismiss the employee, which is legally warrantable.
It is a red line that the main business and part-time jobs do not interfere with each other, and that workers can fully and effectively perform their labor obligations in their own work, and do not use their working hours and work resources to engage in part-time or side jobs. From another point of view, in addition to part-time employment, various types of side hustles also include labor relations, contract relationships and other situations, and once the personal safety and legitimate rights and interests of employees are infringed on part-time jobs, it is very likely to lead to new labor disputes. Therefore, it is still necessary to be cautious in choosing and engaging in a side hustle.
The labor concept and value of doing a line, loving a line, and refining a line will never be outdated, and will not disappoint everyone who is enterprising, persists in struggle and hard work. In any case, doing a good job in the main business is always the most important.