Can I take a second job in Hungary?
Yes — after the eight hours, the remaining time is yours, and your employer can't take it. Under the Labour Code, employees may freely enter further employment outside working time — second jobs, assignments, businesses. A contractual blanket ban on second jobs isn't lawful; what employers may rightfully demand: information where the side work could touch their legitimate economic interests, and consent for competing (same-market) activity. The other limit is performance: the second job may not endanger the first — botching work sleep-deprived, or running the side gig on main-job time, becomes a dismissal ground. Tax-wise the second wage bears the usual income tax and contributions (claim reliefs at one employer only); EFO and invoiced side routes stay open too. Civil servants face stricter permission regimes.
📋 The key rules
- Outside working time you may freely take further employment
- Blanket bans aren't lawful — 'no second jobs' clauses are attackable
- Competing activity: consent required; information duty where interests are touched
- The side job can't undermine the main one (rest time, performance)
- Public sector: separate permission rules
🔓 Exceptions
- Non-compete agreements (for consideration, max 2 years post-employment) can lawfully restrict
- Executive employees face stricter conflict-of-interest rules
- In the public sector (civil servants, public employees) separate permission regimes apply — notification alone is not enough there
⚠️ Penalties
Undisclosed competing work that harms the employer's legitimate economic interests is a dismissal ground — in serious cases immediate termination, with damages on top, and proving it is easier for the employer than you might think. The same goes for a side job that eats into the main one: work botched through exhaustion, or the side gig run on company time, can be reason enough by itself. Conversely, retaliation for a lawful second job (demotion, docked pay) is the employer's own violation, contestable in a labour dispute with a claim for lost income.
📎 Official sources
- HR Portál · What the employer may order (HU) →
- Adó Online · Labour-law explainer (HU) →
- Curia · Dismissal case-law summary (PDF, HU) →
❓ Frequently asked questions
Must I report the second job to my boss?
You have an information duty only where the second job could touch the employer's legitimate economic interests. Competing work needs express consent, but a wholly unrelated side gig need not be reported at all.
My contract bans second jobs. Is that valid?
A blanket, uncompensated ban is not valid — your off-hours are yours to dispose of, and the clause can be challenged. The only lawful limits are competing work and the protection of the employer's legitimate interests.
How is the second wage taxed?
Exactly like the first: 15 % income tax and 18.5 % contributions. Claim reliefs (such as the under-25 one) by declaration at a single employer, or a year-end settlement and repayment may follow.
What is a non-compete agreement?
A separate contract in which, for consideration (typically a third of your pay), you agree not to join a competitor for up to 2 years after leaving. Without one, a former employer cannot block the move.
Can I be fired over my second job?
Not for a lawful, unrelated side job — retaliation for that is the employer's violation and can be challenged in a labour dispute. Undisclosed competing work, though, is a dismissal ground, and in serious cases an immediate one.
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