Technical Question re Moonlighting - Any Help?

M

mo3art

Guest
Tricky question here

Our company is a group of professionals, staff would consist of directors, graduates, technical staff and admin.

It has come to my attention that one of our technical staff may be "moonlighting" and passing themselves off as a professional. Working directly on jobs at night which we would normally do in the office. They've used company letterhead for ordering items for the moonlighting and been taking phone calls in the office related to it, and using other resources as well. This worries me for insurance reasons for starters.

We don't have an exclusivity clause in our contracts BUT there has always been an unwritten rule that if anyone was offered any extra work it couldn't be in direct conflict with the type of work we do. Even if it wasn't in conflict as a matter of courtesy the directors should be asked for their permission.

Has anybody got any idea how we handle this member of staff at all? To me, it sounds like gross misconduct but it's so sticky because of having no clause in the contract.

Any help?

[Title edited by RainyDay]
 
Re: Technical Question Any Help?

The use of company letterhead when ordering is particularly concerning - Does this constitute financial fraud, i.e. who pays for the goods, is the VAT handled properly?

As a first step, I'd suggest communicating a 'no moonlighting' policy immediately to all staff and building it into the contracts of all new staff.
 
Re: Technical Question Any Help?

I would thread carefully and deliberately.

Managing professionals is difficult and different from managaging other categories of employment. Handled incorrectly and you could find yourself without key employees.

Have you considered getting advice from IBEC or the Small Firms Asssociation? There are also some HR firms who specialise in this sort of thing.

It might be an idea for you to develop a "code of pracitice" but I suggest you put a lot of thought into it before you roll it out and implement it. You may have an inkling who is engaging in these practices and you could ask them to help you draft the code of practice?



ajapale
 
Re: Technical Question Any Help?

Thanks for that.

Just to clarify, the employee in question has no qualifications (junior position) at all but is alleging they can provide a service which is similar to ours but at a cheaper price. Which is why I have major concerns insurance wise.

Really ramming my head against a brick wall as I need to nip it in the bud before it all blows back in our faces.

If anyone has any experience with this or thoughts, I would really appreciate it.

Next phone call IBEC

Mo
 
Re: Technical Question Any Help?

Hi mo3art,

I'd fully agree with ajapale's tread carefully policy...but if this person is as junior as you say they are have you tried just asking them outright if they're doing this? You could use the company paper as a reason for asking the question.
At the very least it may stop them dead in their tracks while you go about changing policy in a careful manner.
 
larging

Just sack them for stealing letterheads. Try to make sure they don't take any of your customers with them.
 
Re: larging

Just sack them for stealing letterheads

That'd be a rather stupid thing to do. You'd find yourself in court over unfair dismissal very quickly.
 
Re: larging

Do you have hard evidence of their letterhead abuse?
 
Re: larging

There seems to be a very basic issue here which can be used to address the problem.

Someone is using letterhead to quote for or specify work not being done by the company.

This allows for all sorts of problems - are bills being generated on the companies behalf, and if so what is happening to the revenue, what is happening to the VAT, what happens when a 'client' comes back with an issue surrounding a job done accompanied by company letterhead and a company bill ?

Doing moonlight work where there is no written agreement not to is not a problem as such - verbal understandings are worth the paper . . . . etc. Abuse of company resources to do the moonlighting is a different thing altogether.

This is not a good situation at all.

z
 
Re: larging

Yep, I have the letterhead with the order on which they specify that the order will be collected in person and paid for in cash.

I have a log of the faxes that were sent out and of the telephone calls made and received on the company's time.

It now appears that the employee may also be using the company's computer system to do the moonlighting work. He may also have advertised his consultancy services in a local newspaper.

Sigh

We are a small but reputable company with a very broad client base, we really don't need this to happen but I have to tackle it quickly to minimise potential damage.
 
Re: larging

Hi Mo3art,

Just some more general thoughts.

I misunderstood I thought it was a general situation where several professionals were moonlighting on a small scale with only incidental use of company resources.

What you have described is more specific and complicated. I think you have a few related issues here. 1) The person is unqualified. 2) The person is an employee 3)The person is using company resources.

1) I'm not sure what profession is in question, but is there a professional association which regulates the profession?

2) Is there anything in the employees contract which mentions confict of interests etc?

3) Do you have a disiplinary procedure? If so you should invoke the procedure and confront the employee with the evidence (of using company resources for personal gain).

I imagine that you would not want your customers, suppliers and the industry in general to know what has happened so there is a need to keep the affair quiet.

ajapale
 
Re: larging

Thanks Ajapale, in answer to your queries:

1) There is a professional organisation which would regulate our profession, but I'm not sure if they would have much pull here, especially as the employee is not a member

2) There is nothing in our contracts about conflict of interest, there is something about sullying the good name of the company or something. We don't so much have contracts as terms and conditions of employment anyway.

3) We do have disciplinary procedure, this person has already received one formal warning for another matter so they are entitled to a fair hearing.

There is an extreme need to keep this affair quiet so I'm very wary of causing a huge "broohaha" and our clients hearing about it. I'm also concerned that the employee is offering services they are not qualified or experienced enough to provide and as they carry no insurances this could have serious implications for our own insurances in the future, especially as they are using our letterheads for correspondence.

I think that I will wait to speak to IBEC again on the matter and keep you posted.

It's a pity, our company has a great reputation and offers brilliant benefits to all members of staff, and I really feel that the employee is abusing the company's good nature and spoiling it for every other employee.

Thanks so much for your sound advice and opinions

Mo
 
Re: larging

A rather blunt way of doing it: would it be possible to alter the security settings on your swipe card system/alarm system?

If you could change this person's security setting and only give them access to the building Mon-Fri 9-6 that would solve the problem very quickly.
 
Re: larging

A rather blunt way of doing it: would it be possible to alter the security settings on your swipe card system/alarm system?

If you could change this person's security setting and only give them access to the building Mon-Fri 9-6 that would solve the problem very quickly.

This presumes though that they have a swipe card system and that the guy is not just staying late. You'd have to do the same thing for everyone else too.
 
.

That'd be a rather stupid thing to do. You'd find yourself in court over unfair dismissal very quickly.

Why would that be stupid? I think stealing from your employer is very much grounds for dismissal. If I buy stuff to promote my company, I wouldn't want some employee, who I'm also paying wages to, stealing it. Overheads are dear enough.

People work hard to set up companies often taking a great deal of financial risk (remortgaging houses etc), and if some employee is stealing, jeapordising everything for their trivial gains, I think they should be shown the door asap.

To the original poster - Sack the employee, and point out that they probably haven't being paying income tax for their nixers. If they don't cause a fuss, neither will you.
 
Dunder Heads

What! are you people serious , implement new policy's , contact IBEC , change the security system , no wonder you need to have management training to guide you lot.

Simple is best.

If you want him out of there , get someone to contact him, for a job of work. Let him make some calls and quote and give give feedback to the fake client. Its all , misuse of company facilities. Follow it through , then confront them.
Once you have a copy letter from him to the supposed client , his balls will be , how do you say , dropping like lead.

Or if you just want to tame them
 
Re: Dunder Heads

Hi Mo3art

This is a very serious issue and needs to be addressed ASAP before your company finds itself in deep trouble.

If this individual is completing work and doing it in your company's name then the company is open to taking responsiblity for any fallout relating to that work.

The other issue is, who is authorising all these invoices etc. that the individual is sending out? How are the customers paying for everything? At the very least there is a potential case here of fraud. Also what will you customers do if they have an issue with the work this person has done for them?

You mentioned that the individual is using your computer systems to support this activity. You should ensure that you have all audit trails turned on to tack this persons activity. Those audit trails should be backed up to a secure place and handled carefully as this information could be used as evidence.

My advise would be to gather as much hard facts and evidence as possible. Approach the individual in question and confront them with same. Depending on your company you may then decide to dismiss them , suspend them or give a final warning. The fact that this could consititure fraud means that you can bypass all the niceties of written warnings etc and dismiss this person - however to do this make sure you have the appropraite evidence to back your case up.

C
 
Communicate

Another way of looking at it is this:it is a simple communication issue, not a legal or HR one.

The person in question may not be doing this for fun or even greed. They may be in a desparate financial situation with loans, debts etc. This is not an excuse, however.

If they are passing themselves off as a professional, they may be well able to do the job, even though they hold a junior rank.

I would recommend talking to them, telling them in a diplomatic, non-accusatory and calm way that it has come to your attention and then let them do the talking.

If you are satisfied and if they are any good, what about a promotion with a pay rise? To give them a pay rise, you expect greater responsibility from them and let them know that you believe they can rise to the challenge and this is all forgotten. You may give them a confidence boost as well as increased loyalty.

This way everybody wins!
 
Re: Just an update

Thanks all for your advice.

Just to update you all, this person's contract was terminated with little fuss, thank goodness.

We audited their access to systems through our server. Logged all occasions that company stationery was used inappropriately. Logged all occasions that faxes and emails were received to our office in the name of their own company etc. We also took a long hard look at the quality of work being produced and their ability to work to deadlines.

Mo
 
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