If I write code outside work hours on my own laptop, does my employer own it?

Not automatically — but the answer depends on what you do. Under CDPA s.11(2), an employer owns work created "in the course of employment." The test courts apply is whether the work is of the same type as your employment duties and whether it was created using confidential information or client relationships from the day job. A software developer who writes a personal app in a different language, solving a personal problem, on personal hardware, is in a strong position. A developer who writes a competing product using the same stack as their employer, in the same domain, is not. The clearest protection is a contract that explicitly carves out personal-time IP — if your current employment contract doesn't have one, you're relying on the courts to apply a reasonable test.

Can my employer fire me for having a side hustle?

In the UK, dismissal requires a fair reason under the Employment Rights Act 1996. A side hustle on its own is rarely a fair reason unless: (1) you failed to disclose it when required to by your contract; (2) it directly competes with your employer's business; (3) it uses the employer's confidential information or client relationships; or (4) it affects your performance at work. What most businesses actually do: raise it informally and request disclosure or cessation. Jumping straight to dismissal without a performance or conduct process first creates unfair dismissal exposure. After 2 years of employment, unfair dismissal claims can be brought in the Employment Tribunal — with a maximum compensatory award of £115,115 (2024/25 cap).

My side hustle content could embarrass my employer — are they allowed to stop me?

With the right contract clause, yes. Without it, it's harder. The key concept is "conduct likely to bring the employer into disrepute" — a well-drafted employment contract includes this phrase, and courts have upheld dismissals of employees whose off-hours public conduct conflicted with their employer's public position, including adult content creators, social media influencers with controversial viewpoints, and workers who commented publicly about client companies. If your contract doesn't have a conduct clause, the employer's options narrow to: requesting you stop voluntarily, updating their social media policy (applying only to future conduct), or commencing a performance or disciplinary process if they can show concrete harm.

I'm a contractor, not an employee — does any of this apply to me?

The CDPA s.11(2) employer-owns-it default applies to employees only. As a freelancer or independent contractor, you own the copyright in your work unless a written contract assigns it elsewhere. But your contract may contain: a non-compete clause restricting what clients you can work for simultaneously; a non-solicitation clause preventing you from working with your client's clients directly; an exclusivity clause (common in retained arrangements) preventing any other paid work during the engagement; or an IP assignment clause that hands all work-product to the client on creation. Read these carefully. Exclusivity clauses in contractor agreements are enforceable but must be paid for — most clients who request full exclusivity without paying a retainer have no legal basis to enforce it.

Can my employer claim copyright in a video I filmed at work?

Potentially, yes — and on two different grounds. First, if you filmed "in the course of employment" (during work hours, in your work role), CDPA s.11(2) gives the employer automatic copyright. Second, even for personal content filmed in the workplace, the footage may capture colleagues or clients in ways that create data protection obligations under the Data Protection Act 2018 / UK GDPR — and your employer may have a legitimate data protection basis for requiring deletion. The practical position most businesses take: they don't claim copyright in personal social content, but they do have standing to enforce data protection obligations and workplace filming policies. The clearest situation where the employer can act is viral content filmed during working hours that references clients, clients' facilities, or confidential company processes.

What is the "duty of fidelity" and how does it affect my side hustle?

Every employment relationship in the UK includes an implied duty of fidelity — a common-law obligation that exists even without a written clause. It means you cannot: actively compete with your employer during employment; divert business opportunities away from them; use their confidential information for personal gain; or recruit their clients or colleagues. This applies regardless of whether your employment contract says anything about it. The duty ends when you leave the job (unless replaced by a written post-termination restriction). A side hustle that doesn't compete, doesn't use employer IP, and doesn't affect your day-job performance generally does not breach it — but anything that touches those three areas creates risk.

← ResourcesUK Employment Law Guide

Who Owns Work You Create Outside Work Hours?

The UK’s side hustle IP problem: employees assume they own what they make in their own time. Employers assume they own everything made during the employment. The Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988 says something more specific — and most contracts get it wrong.

Based on CDPA 1988, Employment Rights Act 1996, and UK employment tribunal case law. Not legal advice — see your contract and a qualified solicitor for your specific situation.

4.2m

Self-employed workers in the UK

ONS Labour Force Survey, 2024

~1 in 4

UK employees with a side hustle

CIPD / YouGov survey data, 2023–24

S.11(2)

CDPA clause that hands IP to employers

£0

Cost to claim employee IP without a contract clause

Employer can claim automatically under s.11(2) CDPA

The Law

CDPA 1988 s.11(2) — the clause that decides everything

“Where a literary, dramatic, musical or artistic work, or a film, is made by an author in the course of his employment, his employer is the first owner of any copyright in the work subject to any agreement to the contrary.”

The critical phrase is “in the course of his employment.” UK courts have established a two-part test for what this means in practice:

Was the work of the type the employee was engaged to produce? A developer who writes code is creating the same type of work they do at work. A developer who writes a novel is not.
Was it created using employer resources— confidential information, client relationships, time, equipment, or systems?

Both factors push toward employer ownership. Neither needs to be fully satisfied for the employer to have a credible claim — grey areas are common, and they almost always end in an expensive dispute.

The key protection for the employee: “subject to any agreement to the contrary.” A clear written clause that reserves personal-time IP to the employee overrides the statutory default. Most employment contracts don’t have one.

This rule applies to employees — not freelancers or contractors

If you’re self-employed, the CDPA default is reversed: you own copyright in your work unless a written contract assigns it elsewhere. But your contract may still restrict side hustle activity through non-compete, non-solicitation, or exclusivity clauses. See the contractor section below.

Who owns it? Employee vs contractor — five scenarios

Applies UK law only. Assumes no specific contract clause unless stated.

Software written at home, outside work hours, unrelated to employer

MEDIUM DISPUTE RISK

Employee

Likely yours — but "scope of employment" disputes are common with tech roles

Freelancer / Contractor

Yours — CDPA default: freelancer owns work they create

Design work done in evenings, but uses client-type tools from the day job

HIGH DISPUTE RISK

Employee

High risk — courts look at whether the work is "of the type" you do in the day job

Freelancer / Contractor

Yours unless your contract says otherwise

Written content or social media built on industry knowledge from the day job

MEDIUM DISPUTE RISK

Employee

Grey area — employer may argue the expertise was built in the course of employment

Freelancer / Contractor

Yours — expertise is not copyright-protectable as a standalone right

Side business directly competing with the employer

HIGH DISPUTE RISK

Employee

Breach of duty of fidelity even without a non-compete clause

Freelancer / Contractor

Only restricted if your contract has an active non-compete clause

Influencer content filmed in personal time, no employer reference

LOW DISPUTE RISK

Employee

Generally lawful unless a "conduct" clause prohibits content that embarrasses the employer

Freelancer / Contractor

Yours — unless your contract restricts it

What employers can — and can’t — actually do

Under Employment Rights Act 1996 and common law duty of fidelity.

Employers CAN

✓Claim IP in work created "in the course of employment" under CDPA s.11(2)
✓Require disclosure of competing side businesses via a contract clause
✓Dismiss for breach of the implied duty of fidelity (competing activity)
✓Enforce non-compete and non-solicitation clauses if proportionate and written
✓Act on "bring into disrepute" content if the contract clause exists
✓Pursue data protection obligations if colleagues or clients are filmed without consent
✓Request deletion of social content that breaches workplace filming policies

Employers CANNOT

✗Claim IP in work that is clearly unrelated to the employment role and uses no employer resources
✗Dismiss for a side hustle without following a fair capability or conduct process (ERA 1996 s.94)
✗Enforce a non-compete that is too broad in scope, duration, or geography
✗Prohibit all off-hours work — only competing or conflicting activity
✗Discipline for lawful off-hours activity without a "conduct" clause in the contract
✗Require deletion of personal social content without a data protection or contractual basis
✗Vary contract terms unilaterally to add side hustle restrictions without employee agreement

Employment Rights Act 1996

After 2 years of continuous employment, dismissal must follow a fair procedure under ERA 1996 s.94+. Dismissing an employee for an undisclosed side hustle — without a prior warning, a written conduct clause, and an opportunity to respond — creates significant unfair dismissal exposure. The maximum compensatory award in the Employment Tribunal is £115,115 (2024/25).

The five contract clauses that determine everything

What a well-drafted clause looks like vs what most employment contracts actually say.

IP created outside working hours

Without this clause, employers can claim any work "of the type" covered by the employment role belongs to them under CDPA s.11(2).

Well-drafted

"Copyright and all intellectual property in work created by the Employee outside normal working hours and not using Company resources, equipment, or confidential information shall remain with the Employee."

What most contracts say

"All intellectual property created by the Employee during the term of employment shall vest in the Company."

This attempts to claim IP created entirely in personal time — enforceable if the employee agrees to it at the start of employment.

Side business disclosure

An undisclosed competing side hustle can be a breach of the implied duty of fidelity even if the contract says nothing. A disclosure clause makes the rules explicit for both parties.

Well-drafted

"The Employee shall disclose to the Company any business activity undertaken outside employment that may conflict with the Company's commercial interests, or that uses the Company's confidential information or client relationships."

What most contracts say

"[No clause at all]"

Absence of a disclosure clause doesn't mean there's no duty — common law fills the gap, but the standard is uncertain.

Conduct and reputational harm

Dismissal for off-hours content that embarrasses the employer is high-risk without a contractual basis. With a clearly-worded clause, the employer has the legal footing to act.

Well-drafted

"The Employee agrees to conduct themselves in a manner consistent with the Company's reputation and public image at all times, including on personal social media accounts, and to avoid any behaviour likely to bring the Company into disrepute."

What most contracts say

"The Employee must behave professionally."

"Professionally" is undefined and unenforceable — courts need a specific standard.

Filming at work — data protection and IP

Filming colleagues or clients engages UK GDPR (Data Protection Act 2018) and potentially CDPA IP rights. A clear prohibition with the statutory basis is enforceable; a general "no phones" policy without legal grounding is weaker.

Well-drafted

"The Employee shall not record audio or video content in the workplace or involving colleagues, clients, or Company premises without prior written consent. Any such content captured without consent is subject to deletion and may constitute a data protection breach under the Data Protection Act 2018."

What most contracts say

"No mobile phones in client meetings."

Scoped too narrowly — doesn't cover social content filmed in common areas, or content involving colleagues captured outside of meetings.

Post-termination restrictions

Non-compete clauses are enforceable in the UK but must be proportionate. Courts will strike down anything wider than the employer's legitimate business interests. 6 months and a specific sector is the ceiling in most roles; 12 months is regularly challenged.

Well-drafted

"For a period of 6 months following termination of employment, the Employee shall not engage in [specific role type] for any business that directly competes with the Company's [specific product/service] in [specific geographic scope]."

What most contracts say

"For 12 months following termination the Employee shall not work in the [whole industry] in [any country]."

Likely void — too broad in scope and geography. Courts sever unenforceable parts but the employer cannot rely on them.

Generate a contract with the right IP clauses built in

LexPact generates UK employment and contractor agreements with explicit IP ownership clauses, correct CDPA language, and proportionate non-compete provisions — in under 60 seconds.

Generate a freelance contract →Generate a service agreement →

Free to generate · £9 for the clean PDF

Related tools & guides

IP Ownership Risk Checker

Three questions — instant assessment of your current IP exposure as a freelancer.

IR35 Contract Clauses

The six clauses HMRC examines when assessing contractor status.

Scope Creep Calculator

How much unbilled work are you absorbing? Calculate the revenue leak.

Who Owns Work You Create Outside Work Hours?

CDPA 1988 s.11(2) — the clause that decides everything

Who owns it? Employee vs contractor — five scenarios

What employers can — and can’t — actually do

The five contract clauses that determine everything

IP created outside working hours

Side business disclosure

Conduct and reputational harm

Filming at work — data protection and IP

Post-termination restrictions

Generate a contract with the right IP clauses built in

Frequently asked questions