Unauthorised Secondary Employment

Unauthorised secondary employment takes many forms and arises for various reasons: undeclared work, employment with a competitor (a violation of the non-compete obligation), self-employment (not infrequently in competition with the primary employer) or, quite simply, a “normal” job without complex legal entanglements.

Our experienced commercial investigators in Frankfurt provide court-admissible proof of prohibited employment activities carried out by one of your employees: +49 69 1201 8431.

A Second Source of Income That Falters

Personal financial difficulties may understandably lead an employee to seek an additional job. In most cases, the employer tolerates such a secondary job as long as it does not interfere with the employee’s primary role. However, if the employee turns up for their main job overtired, unfocused and in a bad mood, and clear signs of excessive strain become apparent, a conflict of interest arises. The employer is likely to draw the appropriate conclusions and forbid the secondary employment. Yet: once someone has enjoyed the rewards from the treetops, they may not be content to return to eating windfall fruit. Many employees secretly defy the employer’s instruction to cease the secondary job – Kurtz Detective Agency Frankfurt uncovers these offenders with maximum discretion and great efficiency.

Beyond regular secondary jobs, there is also a strong trend towards self-employment as an additional income stream. The heavily digitalised start-up culture of recent years enables almost anyone to start a business from their sofa at home. If this self-employment is pursued on the side while the individual holds a primary job, a range of issues may arise, for example: If the self-employed work is done after hours, it may keep the employee busy late into the night, leading to fatigue at the primary workplace. Or: If the self-employment takes place in the same industry as the employer’s business, the employee becomes a direct competitor and automatically violates the duty of loyalty applicable to employees in Germany. In such cases, it is in the company’s interest that the employee discontinues the secondary activity. For the review of your suspicious employee and the collection of court-proof evidence regarding the performance of unauthorised secondary employment, our IHK-certified detectives in Frankfurt am Main, throughout Hesse and also in Rhineland-Palatinate are at your service. Please send us a case description by email at kontakt@kurtz-detektei-frankfurt.de or call us on the number above.

Non-Compete Obligations in Secondary Employment

An employee seeking a secondary job will most easily find one in the same sector in which their primary employer operates. But if they accept such a position, they inevitably breach their employment contract – regardless of whether an explicit non-compete clause has been included. There are several very good reasons for this. One of them is the protection of company secrets from unauthorised disclosure to competitors. To avoid detection by the primary employer via checks with social insurance providers or tax authorities, the secondary job is often not declared and thus even constitutes a criminal offence (including tax evasion). Consequently, both the primary employer suffers – as company information may end up with a competitor and provide them with an advantage – and the state or society, as taxes and social contributions legally owed are not paid.

Our renowned Frankfurt commercial investigation agency has the expertise to prove unauthorised secondary employment in a court-admissible manner through surveillance of the suspect and research with authorities and other institutions. This enables you to hold the employee concerned, and possibly an involved competitor, liable. We will be pleased to provide you with non-binding information about our case-specific approach. Send us a message via our contact form or call our Frankfurt detective agency: +49 69 1201 8431.