Employee moonlighting i.e. having a second job, typically secretly and at night, in addition to one’s regular employment is on the rise around the world and around the clock NOT just at night

This growth in moonlighting has largely been attributed to increasing work flexibility and a search for creative satisfaction since the pandemic. However, recent high-profile cases have shone a light on how moonlighting can cause issues for primary employers.

What is employee moonlighting?

Moonlighting refers to employees who take up a second job or multiple other working roles in addition to their full-time job.

For example, an employee may work for your business during typical business hours, 9am to 5pm Monday to Friday, and also choose to take up additional employment with a separate employer from 6pm to midnight on certain weekdays.

Whilst moonlighting may be suitable in some situations, it may also negatively impact the primary employer due to customer data privacy and protection issues or a conflict of interest. This is particularly the case when an employee’s secondary employment is in the same industry and/or with a direct competitor.

What are the implications for employers?

It’s vital for employers to understand their rights in order to effectively manage employees who are working multiple jobs.

Employers should firstly ensure that all employees are fully informed of moonlighting policies. These are typically included in general HR policies or an employee handbook. The policy should specify the circumstances in which an employee may or may not have a secondary job, whether the employee needs to seek approval prior to taking up an additional job, and it should specify any industries, companies or roles in which the employee can’t hold a second job.

If a policy is in place and the employee does not meet the requirements specified in that policy, the employer may have the right to ask the employee to leave their secondary employment.

What additional precautions can employers take?

Employers can take two additional precautions to effectively identify and manage moonlighting employees. These safeguards will help to mitigate potential conflicts of interest.

One solution is to conduct thorough background screening prior to hiring new employees. This includes employment verifications, references, social media, directorship and adverse media searches, to name a few

Background screening can reveal whether a candidate continues to hold positions that they claim to have terminated. For instance, a candidate may lied about leaving their past employers but thorough screening, including a search on the candidate’s employee provident fund (PF) account, can uncovered that the candidate was still actively employed in two roles.

A supplementary solution is to conduct regular re-screening to ensure that no conflicts of interest arise during an employee’s tenure. It is often the case as an employee gains more experience and understanding of the market and especially in hybrid work environments where employees don’t necessary need to head into a physical office. Re-screening is one way to identify any employees who have taken up secondary employment during their tenure.

How can Sterling RISQ help?

Sterling RISQ provides background screening services by conducting thorough screening with direct sources, such as government authorities, local or national police agencies, and prior employers and referees and by conducting broad based media searches.

Sterling RISQ uses leading technology to conduct a wide range of background screening services in industry-leading turnaround times. Implementing a tailored suite of screening services can equip organisations with the valuable insights to better understand and manage their workforce.

Contact us here or drop us an email at info@sterlingrisq.com to discuss your screening needs today.

We’ve all seen the glitz and glamour of real estate sales on shows like Selling Sunset and Million Dollar Listing. But aside from the drama and high-flying life, what really goes into becoming a real estate agent?

New Zealand has recently made the requirements clearer for aspiring NZ-based real estate agents, managers and salespeople. In August 2022, the Real Estate Authority (REA) published guidelines about the considerations they make when determining whether an applicant for a real estate licence is “fit and proper”.

The guidelines, referred to as the Fit and Proper Guidelines, set out the principles and factors that the REA registrar will assess when reviewing an applicant’s character. These guidelines provide transparency and clarity about a process that was already in place but not previously made public.

The guidelines state that the registrar will consider factors such as whether the person is of good character, their ability to communicate effectively, their ability to treat others with respect and courtesy, and any potential risk to public safety.

In making their assessment, the registrar will also look at an applicant’s prior convictions, both in New Zealand and in other countries – particularly the nature of the offence, time since the offence, and the applicant’s age at time of offence.

Certain convictions like dishonesty offences, offences involving physical or sexual violence, and other serious offences are unlikely to meet the bar for a fit and proper licensee. The registrar will additionally consider whether an applicant is or has been subject to disciplinary proceedings or other complaints and inquiries.

What does this mean for you?

The published guidelines make it clearer for prospective licensees, renewing licensees, and the public to understand the requirements to be assessed as fit and proper to hold a real estate licence.

Concerned applicants and/or their employers may wish to conduct their own due diligence by seeking a criminal history background check and other checks prior to submitting an application for a licence.

Other screening to consider undertaking are bankruptcy checks, professional disciplinary matters, directorship checks, and adverse media checks, as these are all issues that may be considered with the application. Increasingly in the digital era, where we have multiple working arrangements, work in varying locations, and have a variety of candidates, e-referencing and social media checks can help bridge a gap between you and your candidate and help you determine if they are a cultural fit.

This level of due diligence can help to ease the pressure of the application by identifying any potential issues or red flags prior to submission, saving time and money in the long term, providing you a compliance safety that ensures your organisation is protected from fraudulent candidates posing a risk.

If you’d like to learn more about the new REA guidelines or about the screening services that Sterling RISQ offers in New Zealand for licensee applicants, contact us at info@sterlingrisq.com

According to recent reports, Tim Boyd successfully became the CEO at Christchurch City Holdings Ltd (CCHL) even though he faced multiple fraud allegations, civil lawsuits, alleged drink driving charges and active warrant for arrest in the United States, along with a restraining order taken out by an ex-fiancée.

Recruitment agency Decipher Group, who helped CCHL recruit Boyd, said civil matters in the US are not picked up by their ‘industry standard’ background checks. A lawyer for Boyd also advised that Boyd fully disclosed his work history and was not aware of any outstanding debts in the US when he applied for the position.

As these incidents were not discovered during the hiring process, Boyd was able to work as a senior adviser at the Ministry of Social Development for two years, and subsequently become the CEO of CCHL, controlling assets worth more than $4.5 billion

CCHL has advised that it is now pursuing an external review into Boyd’s employment history as well as an internal audit of all contracts and financial transactions during his tenure as CEO.

These reviews will cost CCHL significant time and money, not to mention considerable reputational risk, yet all could have been avoided if a global background screening framework have been put in place and conducted before he was hired.

Prevention Better Than Cure

Background Screening acts as due diligence to flag any candidate issues prior to making major hiring decisions. This protects companies in many ways – it mitigates reputational risk, minimises the need for rehiring, and safeguards employees and customers from interacting with people who have falsified their experience.

A thorough background screening process includes searches that are conducted globally in locations where the candidate has previously reside and work in. The screening should include adverse media searches, criminal history checks, social media screening, and reference checks with past employers

It’s particularly important to conduct comprehensive reference checks on candidates for senior management roles. Simple reliance on a CV is not sufficient as they are typically written by the candidate and presented in a way that paints them in the best light.

Reference Checks, on the other hand, offer a more genuine behavioural overview of a candidate. By speaking with colleagues and managers who have direct experience working with the candidate, honest information can be gathered about the candidate’s capabilities and suitability for the role. In the case of Boyd, several people in the US who knew Boyd described him as a sociopath. Former business associates say he lied or misrepresented information on business deals.

Holistic Background Screening helps to expose a candidate’s problematic history (if any exists) and enables recruitment teams to make well-informed hiring decisions.

How Can Sterling Help You Avoid A ‘Trail of Horror’?

Using an experienced global background screening provider like Sterling RISQ ensures that background checks are well rounded and conducted efficiently and accurately. This gives employers peace of mind, when hiring for a position of trust with full awareness and information about a candidate’s past.

Sterling has a global presence across the ANZ, APAC, EMEA and US & Canada regions, which enables us to deliver the most through background screening services on the market, with unparalleled access to official government databases.

Make sure you avoid a ‘trail of horror’ by establishing a holistic and robust screening framework at your company. Get in touch at info@sterlingrisq.com to discuss your global screening needs.

As we enter the final quarter of the calendar year, many of us are looking forward to a well-deserved break and time spent with family and friends over the festive period. But one facet of the holidays that many people may not realise is that it also happens to be a boom time for gig work.

More people are out and about – requiring transport services through ride-hailing apps. More people are having guests over – but want to avoid the hassle of cooking or shopping so they order food and groceries using delivery apps. And people are ordering gifts online for friends and family – requiring picking, packing, and delivery around the world.

Taskmo reported that demand for Indian gig workers across the e-commerce sector increased by 11% month-on-month in June, with companies such as Epay, Amazon and Flipkart advertising the highest number of job opportunities.

The upcoming end of year holidays, combined with “sales” days such as Great Indian Festival Sales and Prime Day Sales, has driven the increase in e-commerce gig work. Gig workers are therefore in high demand and are able to take advantage of the plentiful opportunities for work and income before the end of the year.

What should companies consider when hiring gig workers?

Companies hiring gig workers need to be cognisant of the fact that gig workers typically have higher turnover rates than that of employees. The demographic of people working in gig employment are usually those that see it as a temporary stopgap while they seek more permanent employment. It is therefore imperative that gig workers are onboarded quickly and are able to get to work as soon as possible.

One aspect of the onboarding process that can be completed speedily and conveniently is background checks.

Background checks are important to conduct for gig workers as there is an element of trust and autonomy given to gig workers that enable them to cause significant detrimental effect for the hiring company if left unverified.

For instance, gig workers are often in enclosed spaces with customers or visit customers at home – requiring a certain level of trust on the part of the hiring company and the customer – and gig workers generally operate independently throughout the duration of their work, therefore receiving less oversight than typical employees.

Background checks that companies typically conduct for gig workers are: criminal history checks, driver licence checks, employment verification, and right to work checks. These checks act as an additional verification of the background and trustworthiness of the gig worker.

Sterling RISQ offers convenient digital solutions for gig workers to complete their background checks online and speed up the onboarding process. Our solutions remove the need for manual screening processes and ensure that workers are thoroughly checked and verified in the most efficient manner possible.

If you’d like to learn more about the services that Sterling RISQ offers to companies hiring gig workers, contact us here or drop us an email at info@sterlingrisq.com

Does your business conduct background screening in India? If so, an exciting development in the country may mean that the turnaround time for your background screening results can be sped up significantly.

What are the changes?

The Parliament of India has passed a new wage code that requires companies to “pay the full and final settlement of wages within two days of an employee’s last working day following their resignation, dismissal or removal from employment.”

The reform represents a notable reduction in time granted to companies to complete their exit formalities and process an employee’s full and final settlement of wages. The current common practice is for companies to pay the settlement of salary 45 days after an employee’s last working day. In some cases, this period can even extend up to 90 days.

The exit formalities also include the issuance of an experience letter, which provides the employee with proof of employment and is a crucial document for employment verification for their next role.

The proposed change is an encouraging development for Indian employees as it will enable workers to have increased flexibility when moving between jobs and will offer them the peace of mind of having sufficient funds to cover any transition period where they may be without employment.

When will the changes take place?

The government sought to implement the new reforms by 1 July 2022, however this has been delayed.

The changes cannot become effective until they are ratified and drafted by every state and union territory (UT) in India, of which there are 28 states and 8 UTs. As of 30 June 2022, a total of 23 states and UTs had released draft guidelines regarding the reforms. The Indian government is yet to announce a new date for full implementation by all states and UTs.

The new wage code also permits individual states to set the full and final settlement timeline based on what they see as reasonable and feasible in their jurisdiction, meaning the two-day requirement may vary across states. If the reforms are eventually ratified and implemented across the country, companies will need to ensure their payroll processes are updated to align with the given timeframe in each state.

How will the changes affect background screening?

The prospective changes to the full and final settlement rules will be beneficial for improving background screening turnaround times in India.

Many employers in India issue an experience letter to departing employees at the time of full and final settlement, which can currently take anywhere between 30 and 90 days. The experience letter acts as proof of employment and is an important document for hiring companies and screening providers to obtain before commencing employment verification processes for an employee’s next role.

For example, under the existing rules, if a candidate’s final working day with their current employer is 30 June 2022, we would not be able to commence verification of their most recent employment until at least 15 August 2022. This invariably creates a slower turnaround time for background screening results – a frustrating experience for all involved and a factor that is unfortunately not under any screening provider’s control.

The proposed shift from 45 days to two working days for issuance of an experience letter will enable verification of the candidate’s most recent employment to commence promptly, meaning employees can be onboarded more quickly and bring increased certainty to prospective employers.

What has been the reaction from industry?

Sterling RISQ has spoken to a number of industry leaders and representatives from technology and real estate multinational corporations to understand how soon their companies would be willing to conduct employment verification after an employee’s final working day and what their mandatory requirements are for successful verification.

The representatives advised that their companies would be willing to conduct employment verification immediately after an employee’s final day, without waiting the typical 45 days, as long as the employee can present an experience letter to document their prior employment history.

This insight is extremely heartening for employees, hiring companies, and background screening providers such as Sterling RISQ, as it means background screening and employment verification for new roles can occur quickly and new talent can commence work sooner – especially pertinent during the current high demand for talent in India.

Learn more

If you want to learn more about the proposed changes to the full and final settlement rules or understand how the changes will affect the background screening you conduct in India, contact us at info@sterlingrisq.com.