9 March, 2022
Employers often include a “full time and attention” clause in their employment agreements, whereby the employee is expected to give their full time and attention to the business of the employer. With more employees working from home since the start of the pandemic, it has become easier for employees to take multiple paths, and do other work on the side, which can cause tension between the employer’s expectations, and the employee’s expectations.
On the one hand, employers will want to include such a provision in their employment agreements if they expect the employee to give their full time and attention to the employer during the time the employee is supposed to be working for the employer. Any exceptions should be narrow, and clearly spelled out in the employment agreement.
On the other hand, employees have to ensure they negotiate this term, if they intend to do other work on the side, and ensure that the language in the employment agreement accurately captures the employee’s intent. Failing to do so may result in the employee being in breach of the full time and attention clause (and the employment agreement).
Depending on the industry, there may be other factors the parties will have to consider, and address in the employment agreement, if an employee is permitted to do other work on the side. For example, the impact of such an arrangement on intellectual property ownership, as well as the potential that such an arrangement may more easily lend itself to the misuse of confidential and proprietary information of the employer.
Image credit: ©Zarya Maxim – stock.adobe.com
