Is it common for employment contracts to have a clause to prevent moonlighting? What happens if you get caught breaking the clause?

Hi there,

It is quite common in Singapore today. Most exclusivity clauses protect the company in the event of loss of sensitive or competitive information.

It is usually not enforced, as litigation has a high cost attached to it. However they do have the option to seek for damages, should you breach your contractual obligations and your company has the resource to pursue the matter.

In the context of military employment, if you do moonlight and subsequently get injured during your course of secondary appointment, and become unable to perform your course of duty, it creates a which could have been avoided.

Its my opinion, that you might be able to waive such a clause of you're working with a SME, but if your application is with a larger more established company, I don't see any reason why they would accede to your request.

Hope I was able to shed some insight! Have a great weekend!

Yes. It is especially common for those in civil service and foreign workers. Even for locals and those in other industries, moonlighting is generally disapproved of due to i. split work commitment/distraction and ii. potential conflict of interest.

The penalty will depend on your individual employment contract, potentially including termination. It is best to review through the contract and/or check with your superior beforehand if you are intending to seek outside work.