Wipro Fires 300 Employees for Moonlighting, Kicks-up a Debate

Wipro has fired nearly 300 employees for moonlighting, and the company is getting subjected to a lot of criticism due to this move

Wipro has been facing a lot of flak from a section of people over its decision to fire 300 employees over moonlighting. Last month, Rishad Premji, chairman, Wipro had tweeted that he felt that moonlighting was cheating. “There is a lot of chatter about people moonlighting in the tech industry.  This is cheating - plain and simple,” he said. After that, Wipro announced its decision to let go of “certain employees” who were found to be operating in circumstances that are in direct conflict with Wipro's interests.

What Is Moonlighting?

 Moonlighting is basically employees of certain companies working two or three more jobs for more income. The term “moon” is used to refer to the extra job as the night job, whereas employees work at their regular job during the day. While there is no law that bars employees from working at two companies simultaneously, certain companies have a clause that says a conflict of interest may arise if their employees are caught working in the same domain while being employed with them.

Why Netizens Oppose the Firing of Employees Over Moonlighting?

While Premji says that he sticks to his views on moonlighting and that he was unfazed by the number of hate mails he was receiving over the issue, there re a section of people on social media who say that firing employees for working two jobs was wrong. “No one likes to work two jobs unless it's 'absolutely necessary'. The more important question about moonlighting is why is it necessary and not why one is working multiple jobs,” says Akash Choudhuri on Twitter.

Similarly, “Moonlighting is not just for earning money. It also makes people showcase their skills and build up their own career. It is not an offence to do moonlighting because they are doing their office work at working hours and doing other work at free time,” says another tweet. “Very easy for you to call it cheating but please take into consideration 1) With such low salaries how does an individual survive with the inflation. 2) Many of us have senior citizens parents to look after, who obviously can’t be employed due to the age limit set,” says Mansha Sharma on Twitter. 

Moonlighting Could be Allowed With Consent 

Some neutral views state that moonlighting could be acceptable as long as all the parties involved are ok with it. Vikram Ahuja, founder, Talent 500, has tweeted saying: “An employee should be committed to deliver value and results for their organization. And to make that happen, it requires a great deal of availability, dedication and 100% commitment. Uncompromising work ethics. As a business leader, we expect our employees to fulfil their roles and responsibilities without compromising on quality and accuracy. Dual employment can increase workload and mental pressure. Over-commitment results in mediocre output.”

Ahuja, however, feels that side gigs on weekends are fine. “Side gigs by a professional, say on weekends, are okay, granted:

• Their time allows.
• It does not impede their daily workflow.
• There is no conflict of interest.
• No breach in confidentiality.”