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Restrictive covenants

A restrictive covenant is an agreement (usually a clause within a contract of employment) between an employer and an employee that restrains the employee from carrying out certain actions both during employment and in the event that the employment ceases.

The actions that covenants commonly seek to prevent a former employee from carrying out include: competing with the employer (a non-compete clause), taking the employer’s trade secrets and soliciting the employer’s clients and/or staff.


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    Non-compete clauses and proposed limits on their duration

    by Rob Moss 12 May 2023
    by Rob Moss 12 May 2023

    Legal experts react to a proposed time limit being introduced by government on non-compete clauses in employment contracts.

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    Restrictive covenants: low income workers and the new exclusivity ban

    by Clare Davis 9 Dec 2022
    by Clare Davis 9 Dec 2022

    New regulations make any contractual term unenforceable if it prohibits a low-income worker from working for or providing services to another employer or only permits it with the current employer’s consent.

    • Latest News
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    Do your employment contracts address modern legal risks?

    by Joanna Sutton 11 Oct 2022
    by Joanna Sutton 11 Oct 2022

    Are your organisation’s employment contracts and restrictive covenants suitable for the new world of work?

    • Latest News
    • Employment law
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    Should employers pay for restrictive covenants?

    by Justin T Tarka 8 Jul 2022
    by Justin T Tarka 8 Jul 2022

    What are the pros and cons of requiring employers to pay staff if they want to enforce a restrictive covenant?

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    by Adam McCulloch 1 Apr 2022
    by Adam McCulloch 1 Apr 2022

    At the request of ministers the Insolvency Service has begun criminal and civil investigations into the P&O Ferries redundancies.

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    Chief executive of P&O Ferries asked by MP: ‘Are you just a shameless criminal?’

    by Adam McCulloch 24 Mar 2022
    by Adam McCulloch 24 Mar 2022

    P&O Ferries boss Hebblethwaite admits potentially criminal actions to MPs; transport secretary Grant Shapps at Dubai meeting when ‘major changes’ firm were discussed.

    • Latest News
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    Reforming non-competes? ‘Anti-business, worrying, unnecessary’

    by Personnel Today 7 Dec 2020
    by Personnel Today 7 Dec 2020

    The government’s determination to curtail the use of non-compete clauses in employment contracts has been met with concern by legal...

    • Latest News
    • Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy (BEIS)
    • Restrictive covenants

    ‘Unfair’ non-compete and exclusivity clauses to be curtailed

    by Rob Moss 4 Dec 2020
    by Rob Moss 4 Dec 2020

    The government has confirmed it intends to crack down on and potentially ban the use of non-compete clauses in employment...

    • Brexit
    • Tech sector
    • Latest News

    Government to limit use of non-compete clauses

    by Rob Moss 1 Dec 2020
    by Rob Moss 1 Dec 2020

    The government is looking to limit the use of non-compete clauses in an effort to stimulate a more entrepreneurial culture,...

    • Social media
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    Employers watch BBC’s social media struggles with interest

    by Adam McCulloch 1 Oct 2020
    by Adam McCulloch 1 Oct 2020

    Legal expert says BBC's new impartiality drive has lessons for businesses worried over brand damage from employees' posts.

    • Written statement of employment particulars
    • Latest News
    • Job creation and losses

    Should you enforce restrictive covenants during a pandemic?

    by Imogen Finnegan 25 Aug 2020
    by Imogen Finnegan 25 Aug 2020

    With so many redundancies in the air, it's time for companies to reassess their attitudes towards restrictive covenants, argues Imogen Finnegan.

    • General Data Protection Regulation
    • Social media
    • Acas

    ‘All views my own’: Monitoring employees’ social media

    by Daniel Piddington 18 Aug 2020
    by Daniel Piddington 18 Aug 2020

    Social media has grown in use exponentially since Facebook was launched 16 years ago, and so has the risk to...

    • Police
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    The 10 most important employment law cases in 2019

    by Stephen Simpson 11 Dec 2019
    by Stephen Simpson 11 Dec 2019

    We round up the most significant cases of the year including legal judgments on CCTV, restrictive covenants, enhancing shared parental leave, collective bargaining and more...

    • Latest News
    • Employment law
    • Restrictive covenants

    To compete or not compete, that is the question

    by Adam Grant and David Israel 10 Jul 2019
    by Adam Grant and David Israel 10 Jul 2019

    The recent judgment on restrictive covenants in contracts, Tillman v Egon Zehnder, overturned a century-old principle on competition clauses. But...

    • Latest News
    • Restrictive covenants
    • Employment contracts

    Supreme Court overturns long-held principle on non-compete clauses

    by Jo Faragher 3 Jul 2019
    by Jo Faragher 3 Jul 2019

    The Supreme Court hands down a decision that overturns a century-old principle on employee competition clauses.

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