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.
Meriel Schindler, head of employment at Withers LLP, looks at how employers should respond to employee resignations and how to...
Restrictive covenants are one of the key weapons in the fight against unlawful competition by former employees. Drafting enforceable restrictions...
The recent case of Warm Zones v Thurley and Buckley is an important High Court decision that has given increased...
Charles Wynn-Evans questions whether garden leave is all it is cracked up to be or if there are hidden pitfalls...
Barrister Paras Gorasia looks at how employers can improve the chances of a restrictive covenant being enforceable. When and whether...
As the private sector continues to battle Britain’s economic woes and jobs are shed on a weekly basis, a growing...
Towry EJ Limited v Raymond James & Others, which dealt with restrictive covenants in the financial services sector, was the...
As the economy recovers, competition for skilled employees increases. In order to grow the business, many companies aim to recruit...
I’ve just finished interviewing for a senior sales position in my technology company, but if the successful applicant doesn’t work...
Q I am the director of a popular advertising agency. According to company policy, all of our senior staff have...
Incoming Marks & Spencer chief executive Marc Bolland will be prevented from poaching executives from Morrisons for a year, it...
Hollywood bosses are inserting clauses into actors’ contracts to stop them leaking film information on social networking sites such as...
A European Court of Justice ruling about a Finnish collective redundancy case could affect UK employers' decisions on when to start collective consultation about redundancies.
Two inventors shared compensation of £1.5m after a recent High Court ruling recognised their roles in inventing a patented health...
Michael Farrelly looks at the perils of using off-the-record discussions between employer and employee in disputes.Conciliatory correspondence can often create...
