Can You Do Remote Contract Work Alongside a Full-Time Job?
Updated · 2 min read
A remote contract can turn spare evenings into real income, especially if your day job is in a field where expert reviewers are paid well. Plenty of people do it. A few simple checks keep it from causing trouble at work.
Read your employment contract
Look for three kinds of clause. An exclusivity or outside work clause may require permission before taking other work. A conflict of interest clause may forbid work for competitors or clients. An intellectual property clause may claim anything you create, sometimes even outside working hours. If any of these exist, ask your employer before you start; many will agree to work that does not compete with them.
Keep the two completely separate
- Use your own laptop and accounts for contract work, never your employer's.
- Do the work outside your paid hours.
- Never draw on confidential information from your job, even indirectly.
- Keep separate email addresses for each.
This protects you as much as your employer. Mixing them is the fastest way to turn a side income into a disciplinary matter.
Choosing work that fits
Project-based contracts with no minimum weekly hours suit people with a day job best. Expert evaluation work in your own field is a natural fit, because you are already up to date, and many projects are asynchronous: you can work at ten at night if that is when you have time.
Pacing yourself
It is easy to say yes to too much. Set a weekly cap — say eight hours — and keep to it for the first month. If the contract work starts affecting your sleep or your day job, scale back early. Our guide to avoiding burnout has more on this.
A sustainable weekly pattern
People who keep a side contract going for a year tend to follow a fixed pattern rather than working whenever they can. Two weekday evenings and one weekend morning, for example, adds up to eight to ten hours without taking every free moment. The fixed pattern also helps with the people you live with, who know when you are working and when you are not.
When to step back
Signs that the balance has tipped include mistakes creeping into your main job, quality scores dropping on the contract, or skipping sleep to finish hours. Any one of those is a reason to cut hours for a few weeks. Most projects accept reduced availability when you tell them in advance; disappearing without notice is what damages the relationship.
Common questions
Do I have to tell my employer about a side contract?
It depends on your contract and local law. If your contract requires permission for outside work, yes. If it does not, it is still wise when the work is in the same field.
Can my employer claim work I do for someone else?
Some IP clauses are broad. If you are creating anything — code, writing, designs — check the clause before you start.
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