Outside work
Exclusivity and full business time
Commits your working hours and attention to one employer. Not the same as an explicit ban on outside work, but it operates in the same territory and how it is read depends on jurisdiction.
Where to find it
The employment agreement, usually in the duties or obligations section. Common in older and executive contracts.
Search your document for: full business time devote entire working time best efforts undivided
Which version do you have?
Wording paraphrased for teaching. Yours will differ; the shape is what matters.
Usually fine
“Employee shall devote sufficient time and attention to the performance of their duties.”
An ordinary performance expectation. It asks you to do the job well, not to do only this job.
Needs a question
“Employee shall devote their full business time and attention to the business and affairs of the Company.”
Broad and worth a lawyer's read. It is a commitment about where your working hours go. Whether a second job outside those hours breaches it depends on wording and jurisdiction. This is the classic single-clause question worth paying for.
Stop here
“Employee shall devote their entire working time to the Company and shall not, directly or indirectly, render services to any other person or entity.”
An exclusivity clause with an explicit prohibition attached. Treat it as a hard no.
Ask this before you sign
- Take the exact sentence to an employment lawyer in your state; do not send the whole contract.
- Does the company in practice have employees with disclosed outside work?
What this clause means when you hold two roles
Reading the clause is one thing; knowing how it interacts with a second employer's agreement, where it sits in the self-audit, and what to do when two contracts disagree is the part that takes the work. That analysis, the agreement-review worksheet and the searchable library live in the course.
Generic wording written for teaching, not copied from any real agreement. Employment law varies by country and state. This is not legal advice — see the disclaimer.