Infosys okays external gig work for employees with managers’ prior consent

Bengaluru-based Infosys has allowed its staff to take up external 'gig' work on the side with the prior consent of their manager and BP-HR, provided such an engagement does not compete with the firm, its clients or pose conflict of interest.

The company, in an internal communication to employees, listed how staff can take up 'gig' work, becoming the first large software services company in the country to do so.

The move comes days after Infosys said it doesn't support moonlighting and has fired employees who were into dual employment over the last 12 months.

The development also comes at a time when debate around moonlighting or dual employment has grabbed headlines. Put simply, moonlighting refers to employees taking up side gigs to work on more than one job at a time.

However, the IT services firm did not define 'gig' work nor did it term it as 'moonlighting'.

Analysts believe the move may help the firm to address some attrition challenges, since it allows employees to take up additional source of earnings, and chase their tech passion, albeit with firm riders.

Infosys on moonlighting

During the firm's Q2 earnings, the Bengaluru-headquartered company had made it clear that it doesn't support moonlighting and has fired employees who were into dual employment over the last 12 months.

Infosys CEO Salil Parekh had said that the firm does not support dual employment. "We don't support dual employment... if we found... in the past, employee doing blatant work in two specific companies where there is a confidentiality issue, we have let go of them in the last 12 months," he had said.

Infosys is among the companies which have taken a strong stance on moonlighting. It had earlier shot off a missive to its employees asserting that moonlighting is not permitted, and warned that any violation of contract clauses will trigger disciplinary action "which could even lead to termination of employment".

"No two timing - no moonlighting!" the company had said.

Infosys in email to employees

In an email to employees today, Infosys informed: "Any employee, who wishes to take up gig work, may do so, with the prior consent of their manager and BP-HR, and in their personal time, for establishments that do not compete with Infosys or Infosys' clients."

The company said it counts on its employees to ensure that this does not impact their ability to work with the company effectively.

"In addition, as per Infosys employment contract, employees may not work in areas when there is an actual or potential conflict of interest or by accepting dual employment," the firm wrote in the email seen by news agency PTI.

As an organisation, Infosys values the ability to continuously learn new skills and gain experience. Infosys said that it is only natural that the company is supportive of employees taking up additional projects as appropriate in their personal time.

However, it said, care needs to be taken to ensure that such projects "comply with the company's policy for gig working, and do not breach client contracts or otherwise impact the employee's ability to be effective in their full-time job with Infosys."

When employees have a discussion with their managers about such projects before taking them up, much of this can be addressed, it said.

In addition, Infosys said it has also created several opportunities for gig working internally -- through its very own Accelerate platform that enables managers to list gig work jobs for Infoscions.

"Accelerate allows skill based job matches to recommend the right gigs for employees and incentivise both gig wokers and hiring managers. The platform, over the years, has been helping in create richer job variety and more immersive learning for Infoscions," it said.

Infosys hikes sales outlook

Infosys recently reported a 11% growth in its consolidated net profit at ₹6,021 crore for the July-September quarter and announced buyback of shares worth ₹9,300 crore.

The company said it now expects revenue to grow 15%-16% this fiscal year ending March, as against a 14%-16% increase earlier, buoyed by "strong large deals pipeline" and good demand momentum despite global macroeconomic concerns.

The company board has also declared an interim dividend of ₹16.50 per share. The interim dividend payout will be about ₹6,940 crore.

Infosys' bullish view is in contrast to the outlook of larger rival TCS, which earlier this week pointed to some weakness in long-term outsourcing deals materialising, while it mostly added small- and medium-sized orders.

Analysts now expect Infosys to see a 19% rise in annual revenue, compared with a 16% increase at TCS.

"We expect Infosys' growth outperformance over TCS to continue in FY23-24F (fiscal year 2023-2024)," Nomura said in a research note, keeping Infoys as its top pick in the large cap IT services segment.

Analysts at Jefferies retained their "buy" rating for the stock, and raised the target price to 1,710 rupees from 1,700 rupees, saying the buyback would support its stock price.

However, the country's number 2 IT services firm trimmed its operating margin outlook for the year to 21%-22% from 21%-23%, in line with rivals, due to the challenging macroeconomic environment and fears of an economic slowdown in their major markets of the US and Europe.

With agency inputs