HR Industry News

Three in ten UK workers moonlight

— 31 August 2007 —

The recent bank holiday may have been an opportunity for many to enjoy the sunshine, but for others, it was a chance to moonlight.

Research carried out by the Motley Fool website shows that 30% of UK workers have second jobs, while a further 7% have two extra jobs. 70% are afraid of telling their managers because it is against company policy.

Ceridian's Paul Avis commented that “one of the challenges facing employers is getting some employees to take their full holiday entitlement so it is a great concern that some people feel that they have to use this valuable time to bolster their income when it is taken. The Croners 2005 Holiday Debt Survey found that a third of all UK workers forfeited their holidays. As an organisation that promotes work/life balance, we actively promote employees taking their full entitlement to keep them productive.”

The biggest moonlighters are apparently the Northern Irish and the Welsh; employees in the East Midlands are least likely to have a second job.

While most moonlighters are doing it for the money, a fifth of those surveyed give other reasons, including the opportunity to broaden horizons and widen their skill sets.

David Kuo, head of personal finance at fool.co.uk said that moonlighters should concentrate less on the amount of money they are bringing in by doing two jobs, but on the amount of money they are spending: “After all, it's not what we earn that makes us rich, but how we spend what we have.”

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