A question on 'overlapping contracts'

In our newest "how can we help you?" thread, a reader writes:

What are the norms around potentially overlapping contracts?

I ask because when transitioning from a temporary position to another temporary position I've sometimes faced the problem that my contract a job X is supposed to begin before my contract at job Y has ended. Of course, all of my teaching duties, etc. at X have finished, but I'm still technically on their payroll. Is it a problem to have contracts overlap?

Another reader, a UK postdoc, just added:

I would also like to know what people's thoughts are on anon's question re: overlapping contracts. I've heard anecdotally that this is acceptable e.g. if it is a month in summer when there is no teaching/department activity, but would like to know what people think more broadly.

So, I figured I should probably run a thread on this! One reader submitted the following answer:

I have been in your situation twice. However, the overlapping jobs were, in both cases, in two different countries, and for only one paycheck. If you pay taxes in the country x, but then for a month you work in the country y, unless your salary is insane, it does not make a difference tax-wise. If you are in the same country, then it's just a matter of filing your taxes in the proper way - it's just accumulating income, I guess. Please take my considerations cum grano salis, as I'm not an accountant, and there might be complications if you are on a visa.

Anyone else have any tips, experiences, or other insights?

 

 

Comments

[Anonymous]

I was in this position once and, although probably unethical, I collected both paycheques for 2 months. My contract was ending after those two months anyway, and quitting early would have meant I got no severence pay. Plus, after being used as an underpaid, undervalued adjunct for several years I didn't have any qualms about it.

[Michel]

I started my current job in May 2019, and my postdoc ended July 1, 2019. It wasn't an issue, but I don't know how generalizable that anecdote is.

[Contract reader]

Often a contract actually ends a couple months before the pay ends. So you might already be done with the contract by the time the second begins

[Self care]

"I was in this position once and, although probably unethical, I collected both paycheques for 2 months"

I doubt it would be unethical. People often have more than one job (outside of academia, though I often worked part time when in academia) and if you were doing both jobs, I don't see why it would be wrong to be paid for both. Assuming that the overlap didn't go on for a v long time, it benefits nobody if you stopped working one of the jobs and it's unreasonable for your employer to expect you to do the work for free. Take the money, but be quiet about it because I've found that people who are very financially secure in this business (deans, department chairs) aren't looking out for your interests.

[Multiple Country Postdoc]

Please do note that some countries require you to report all income that you earn while working in that country, regardless of where in the world that income was earned (Australia, for example). In the end this may or may not mean that you pay more tax, but you should certainly check the relevant tax regulations carefully.

[Anonymous]

Self care…

I was not doing both jobs bc the first job ended at the end of thr summer and the other one started part way through. No teaching for either at the time, just research. So I was essentially getting paid for research twice over. I won’t go into details, but I didn’t feel bad about it for various reasons, including what you mentioning about higher ups not caring about us.

[Anon]

Many employment contracts have exclusivity clauses. There's a lot of general information about, if you Google something like 'Is it legal to have two jobs at the same time?'