Rishad Premji, Chairman of Wipro, revealed on September 21 that 300 of its employees had been let go when the company found they were simultaneously employed by a competitor.
The Wipro Chairman insisted that he still stands by his recent assertion that moonlighting constitutes a serious violation of integrity.
Premji said at the AIMA’s (All India Management Association) National Management Convention, “The reality is that there are people today working for Wipro and working directly for one of our competitors and we have actually discovered 300 people in the last few months who are doing exactly that.”
When asked about the actions taken against individuals who were found to be working simultaneously for the company and for rivals, Premji said that their employment had been terminated for a “act of integrity violation.”
Moonlighting is the term for secretly doing a second job. He said that as part of transparency, people might talk openly and honestly about things like being in a band or “working on a project over the weekend.”
The organisation and the individual can jointly decide whether or not it works for them, he added, adding that it is an open conversation.
Additionally, Premji said, “There is no space for someone to work for Wipro and competitor XYZ and they would feel exactly the same if they were to discover the same situation.”
“That is what I meant…so I do stand by what I said…
I do think it is violation of integrity if you are moonlighting in that shape and form,” he said.
Anand Mahindra CP Gurnani, CEO of Tech Mahindra, recently tweeted that it is important to adapt to the times and added, “I welcome disruption in the ways we work.”
“No two timing – no moonlighting,” Infosys stated in a stern message to employees this week. Dual employment is not permitted in accordance with the Employee Handbook and Code of Conduct, according to Infosys’ internal communication titled “no double lives.”
The email from Infosys had stated that “Any violation of these clauses will lead to disciplinary action which could even lead to termination of employment.”
Source: PTI