Post termination restrictions
“Thank you Rachel. You have been really helpful and efficient and I shall certainly be recommending you to anyone in my acquaintance with employment issues in the future. In particular you explained everything in simple non legalese – lots of people are scared of lawyers !” Client
“Now, I am going to use capitals ….. THANK YOU, THANK YOU, THANK YOU. What a relief and at last I can start a new life. I could not have done it without your expertise, help and support. I will always be grateful.” Client
“Suzanne possesses an extraordinary ability to consider every aspect and angle to find the most successful way forward for her client.” Chambers and Partners
Post termination restrictions can be a tricky area of law. However, we have a great deal of experience in advising on this area of employment law as well as representing individuals and companies in litigation involving breaches of post termination restrictions.
Post termination restrictions are usually set out in a contract of employment and may involve non-compete clauses preventing the employee from joining a competitor and / or clauses which prevent the individual from soliciting or dealing with clients for a specific period once their employment ends. Other common post termination restrictions can prevent the employee from encouraging other people to leave the company (which can put a stop to team moves) or interfering in a supplier relationship.
An individual may decide to ignore these and proceed with a new opportunity which breaches these restrictions because they think their former employer will not do anything about it, or they are not enforceable. They might be prepared to take this risk, and they could be right. However, they may very well be wrong and to get this wrong can result in very expensive litigation and at its worst, a successful injunction application preventing them from joining their new employer.
The courts will enforce post termination restrictions but only to the extent they protect legitimate business interests and are reasonable. Unfortunately, there is no one size fits all approach to post termination restrictions and whether they are enforceable or not very much depends on the specific situation including the nature of the business, the role, when the post restrictions were entered into as well as all surrounding circumstances.
In addition, we are also accustomed to negotiating a release from post-termination restrictions as part of a settlement agreement in appropriate cases.
We are here to help. We can advise you on whether your restrictions are enforceable and what you can do next. We are different as we are a firm of solicitors who have in house Counsel. Unlike other law firms, we do not need to instruct external counsel for an expert opinion on post termination restrictions. This not only avoids delays in progressing your case, but it also keeps costs down.
If you would like to explore the option of instructing us for any case, please contact Rachel O’Connell or Suzanne McKie KC for further information at oconnell@farorelaw.co.uk or sm@farorelaw.co.uk
Farore Law has been awarded a Client Satisfaction badge for the most recent edition of the Legal 500. This is a significant achievement, as only 10% of firms within the Legal 500 directory are given that award. Please refer to our client testimonials page for a sample of some of the testimonials from our very satisfied clients.
Testimonials
“Thank you Rachel. You have been really helpful and efficient and I shall certainly be recommending you to anyone in my acquaintance with employment issues in the future. In particular you explained everything in simple non legalese – lots of people are scared of lawyers !” Client
“Now, I am going to use capitals ….. THANK YOU, THANK YOU, THANK YOU. What a relief and at last I can start a new life. I could not have done it without your expertise, help and support. I will always be grateful.” Client
“Suzanne possesses an extraordinary ability to consider every aspect and angle to find the most successful way forward for her client.” Chambers and Partners