Sales Employee Moonlighting: How Should We Handle This During Peak Season?

Dear All, I have a query related to one of our sales employees working at the manager level. We provide all facilities to him, except for salary. Since he is in sales, we do not require him to come to the office daily; instead, we ask for online reporting of his work.

Recently, we discovered that he is not only selling our product but also selling products from another company while in the field. The concern is that this is our peak business period, and taking action against him now could impact our business. In this case, what steps can be taken to address this issue?

Please provide feedback on the same.

Thank you.

Dear member,

As of now, you have only received a tip-off about the mala fide activities of your managers. However, to take disciplinary action, you need to have material evidence. To establish the truth, you may keep him under surveillance to generate sufficient proof of his knavery. Once the peak time is over, you may order a domestic enquiry to establish his misconduct.

Thanks,
Dinesh Divekar

Thank you, sir, for the reply. We have evidence as well, but would like to know what strict actions can be taken, for example, termination or a newspaper advertisement about his misconduct. As an organization, what necessary steps should we take against him?

Thank you.

Regards,
Karishma Jaiswal

Dear Karishma, if you have material evidence to prove that the employee has worked for another company, then order the domestic enquiry and let his misconduct be proved. In the domestic enquiry, the employee is given a chance to defend his position. Based on the outcome of the enquiry, your management can make a decision on whether to terminate the employee or not.

Employer-Employee Relationship

The employer-employee relationship is an internal matter of the company. If, for some reason, the relationship deteriorates, then neither party should publicize it in the newspaper. Doing so could amount to defamation and lead to further problems. Therefore, keep this matter within the four walls of the company. Taking disciplinary action itself is a punishment. What will you achieve by publicizing in the newspaper? Just mental satisfaction and nothing more.

Conducting a Domestic Enquiry

Do not terminate the employee without conducting the domestic enquiry. Do not issue any termination letter without conducting the domestic enquiry. Follow the proper process of the enquiry. At this stage, what is needed is to think with the head and not with the heart.

Thanks,
Dinesh Divekar

Addressing Moonlighting at Managerial Level

Working for two employers simultaneously is unethical and violates service conditions. Such acts of moonlighting by an employee at the managerial level need to be dealt with severely. I suggest immediate suspension pending an inquiry. Issue him a show cause notice providing full details about his misbehavior and request his written explanation. This action itself should be sufficient for someone at his level. If he is truly guilty, he will admit it and offer to leave the job voluntarily. It is then up to the management to decide whether to terminate him or let him go without a stain on his record.

Regards,
Vinayak Nagarkar
HR Consultant