united-kingdom employment
In the UK what does &quot;during your employment&quot; mean
<p>I just got a contract of employment for a new job and it has a clause that starts like this:</p>

<blockquote>
  <p>all Intellectual Property generated by you during your employment
  will be owned by the Group.</p>
</blockquote>

<p>When it says "during your employment" does that mean during working hours or everything I do including evenings and weekends?</p>

<p>As currently worded the rest of the clause basically says "we own everything you make". Even Facebook posts and this question would belong to the group.</p>

<p>I sometimes work on open source project, I write for an RPG publisher, I'm half way through writing a novel. All outside work time.</p>

<p>Would this clause hit those sort of activities?</p>

<p>The accepted answer <a href="https://academia.stackexchange.com/questions/29951/who-owns-the-intellectual-property-for-work-you-do-on-weekends">here</a> seems to provide good information. It's geared towards academia, but the legal points should be common to other occupations.</p>

<p>In summary, if the activity could be considered part of your normal or specifically assigned duties, your employer may have grounds to argue that specific Intellectual Property was created "during your employment".</p>

<p>If your job description involves retail, and no one has specifically said "write a novel", this is unlikely to be regarded as "during your employment".</p>

<p>(If someone has said "write a novel", there should also be some consideration (ie. payment) from your employer for the additional duties.)</p>

<p>If your employment involves writing code, that might be something of a grey area. Written clarification from your employer - in particular regarding financial consideration - would be useful.</p>

<p>I asked HR the same question when a job offer included “life insurance cover in case I die during my employment” and was told that was 24/7 from my first day to my last day of employment. </p>

<p>The term is unclear. I’d ask them, obviously, and you need to see if you can accept their interpretation. If they say “during your employment” means “during your work time” then you can ask them to change it. Otherwise you might have to see them in court one day an you would have to hope that the judge decides in your favour. </p>
