I wrok as a partner maneger at a mid-sized IT consultin firm based in the Unites States, overseeing a team of remote workers based in Europe. I suspect a team member in Europe is working two remote jobs at the same time, possibly in South America, violating his global non-compete agreement and local labor laws limiting work hours. I confronted him, but he denied doing so. Unfourtnately, terminating employment at will is challenging due to local employment laws, as he is under a permanent contract. We need to either encourage him to resign or find sufficient grounds for firing him on the spot.
Our concerns were triggered when an individiual overheard him discussing work-related topics in his native language, which were unrelated to our company. With the assistance of a colleague for translation, it became evident that he was commiting to completing a task by a specified date for his second job. Also, he displays increased fatigue, dimished interest in virtual social events, and no interest for a promotion. But, he continues to meet the minimum requirements for his job.
Legal counsel told us that the conversation alone may not be enough for court proceedings. We need to obtain compelling evidence of his engagement in the second job. Are there institions to verify his remote work in South America, or must we hire overseas lawyers?
We had provided him with a work computer. Recently, we instructed our IT administrators to monitor his network traffic and emails, but they found nothing suspicious. I guess he is using another laptop for his second job.
We are unable to monitor his screen, camera, or employ a keylogger due to potential violations of privacy laws (GDPR), as he did not consent to such monitoring in his contract. So, any evidence obtained through these method would not be considered valid.
Any advice would be welkomed.
I see a lot of typical American comments here, but European labour law is rather different. When an employee works too much hours across more jobs, all the employers can get fined for not complying with working time regulations. I suspect this is OP’s biggest concern.
I think however that it should be fine from that perspective if everything has been documented well, like the rules in de employment contract and staff handbook, the investigation into this suspected breach, the outcome of that investigation, correspondence on the subject with the person who reported it, the lawyers, and the employee, etc.
You’ve done what is expected: you took the report serious, you investigated thoroughly and found nothing suspicious, you’ve reissued the rules, and you’ve consulted a lawyer during all of this. You couldn’t have possibly done anything more.
As for the employee; as long as they meet their targets and are generally performing well, there likely isn’t much more you can do. Other than of course manage them on expectations, address fatigue as and when appropriate, etc. And maybe have a frank discussion about how happy the employee is in their role and if their expectations still align with the company and the role.
I personally wouldn’t go as far as investigate across continents, unless you have clear evidence of that suspected breach of non-competition.
It may as well have been a case of him helping out his nephew or something non-material like that.