Unauthorised Secondary Employment | Violation of Non-Compete Agreement – Detectives Gather Evidence

In principle, every German citizen has the right to freely choose their occupation under the Basic Law. In addition, most employees are free to take on secondary employment in their spare time. However, if such secondary employment conflicts with the interests of the main employer – for example, by leading to overwork, to feigned sick leave due to scheduling overlaps between the two jobs, or even by constituting an activity that directly competes with the main employer – it is, in most cases, no longer lawful. It causes damage to the main employer.

The detectives of our Stuttgart corporate investigation agency observe your employee and provide you with court-admissible evidence of unauthorised secondary employment. Should the suspicion be confirmed, the employee is generally liable for damages. Recover what you are entitled to. Kurtz Detective Agency Stuttgart will assist you: +49 711 7153 0028.

Even Without a Contractual Ban: Employee’s Duty to Inform When Taking on Secondary Employment

In many employment contracts, there is at least a clause requiring the employee to inform the employer before taking up secondary employment. Matters become problematic, of course, when the secondary job creates a conflict of interest. This is the case when the employee works for a competing company or when the legally permitted maximum working hours per week are regularly exceeded. It is also normally not permitted to take on a secondary job while on annual leave, as this period is intended for recuperation and to ensure that the employee’s performance level does not decline due to overwork. Frequently, unauthorised secondary activities are even carried out illegally – using your customers and your materials. The financial loss to your company can be immense.

Owing to Low Unemployment: Many Employees in Stuttgart Can Choose Their Employer

The unemployment rate in the Stuttgart region was most recently (autumn 2024) 4.6 per cent – practically full employment, with around 500,000 jobs in Stuttgart alone. That is almost twice as many employed persons as in Essen, a city of comparable population size. Consequently, most highly qualified professionals can choose where they wish to work. Furthermore, attempts by competitors to lure staff away have always occurred, not necessarily with the aim of obtaining information from the previous employer.

Unauthorised Secondary Employment Is Often Illegal Work

Since unapproved secondary employment would quickly attract the main employer’s attention through registration with the pension fund, tax office, and social insurance institutions, many perpetrators engage in such work illegally. Most are active in the same industry as their official employer and thus enter into direct competition with them. Some of these employees take things to the extreme by providing the second employer not only with their labour and expertise but also with materials belonging to the company that officially employs them. This may involve knowingly misused work equipment that the employee is supposed to use for their main job (for instance, tools or company vehicles such as cars, vans, or even lorries), as well as know-how, customer databases, or the contents of quotations.