Employment Restrictive Covenants - from drafting to enforcing

Our experienced team of employment lawyers can assist you with all aspects of employee restrictive covenants, including:

• Drafting effective and enforceable covenants - we will work with you to draft clear, concise, and legally enforceable restrictive covenants tailored to your specific business needs.

• Advising on post-termination restrictions - advising on the legality and enforceability of post-termination restrictions, such as garden leave, non-compete clauses, and non-solicitation clauses.

• Enforcing covenants - if a former employee breaches a restrictive covenant, we advise on how you can take swift and decisive action to protect your business interests.

• Defending claims - vigorously defend your business against claims brought by former employees challenging the validity or enforceability of restrictive covenants.

By partnering with us, you can ensure that your business is adequately protected from unfair competition and the loss of valuable assets.

What are Employee covenants?

Employee restrictive covenants are legal clauses designed to protect a business's confidential information, customer relationships, and goodwill. However, they must be carefully drafted and enforced to avoid legal challenges. Including suitable restrictive covenants is a key way to protect the employer's business interests, such as confidential information, customer relationships, and trade secrets.

There are 3 main types of employment restrictive covenants:

• Non-compete covenants - to prevent an employee from working for a competitor for a specified period of time.

• Non-solicitation covenants - prevent an employee from soliciting or poaching customers or clients of their former employer for a specified period of time.

• Non-dealing covenants - prevent an employee from dealing with former clients or customers of their former employer for a specified period of time.

Will your covenants be enforceable?

Employers must have a legitimate reason to justify restrictive covenants if they get tested in a legal dispute with the employee. The covenants must also be reasonable and proportionate to the employer's legitimate interests.

Courts will consider the following factors when deciding whether to enforce a restrictive covenant:

• The nature of the employer's business - businesses that rely on confidential information or customer relationships are more likely to have enforceable restrictive covenants.

• The employee's position and experience - employees with access to confidential information or who have developed customer relationships are more likely to be subject to restrictive covenants.

• The duration and geographical scope of the covenant - covenants that are too broad in duration or scope are more likely to be unenforceable.

• The existence of an alternative remedy - if the employer has other ways of protecting its interests, such as non-disclosure agreements, then restrictive covenants are less likely to be enforceable.