Have a read of Reg.170 to 174D as to what a VFR flight is and 175 to 181 as to what a IFR flight is. I can not see the Moon mentioned in either.
Amongst other things. If you can avoid other aircraft visually (continuously) then it can be a VFR flight. If you only can avoid other aircraft procedurally then I suggest you have a VFR problem. If you can see the other aircraft continuously at 10+Km then it’s not IMC, Moon or no Moon.
I think the 50 hours is less of an employment impediment than the ability to interpret the requirements the same way the Chief Pilot does. Perhaps the CP interprets ‘planned IFR’ time as opposed to ‘unplanned IFR’. I don’t think you can say on the way to the airport. “I’m planning to do this flight as an IFR flight to increase my employment prospects” and then, once you have read the forecast file VFR, and still count it towards “planned IFR time”