Under Article 20 of the Regulations to the abrogated Organic Labor Law (which is still in force as long as its rules do not contravene the New Labor Law), the enforcement of non-compete provisions is limited.
Such Article expressly provides that during the employment relationship, the employee shall refrain from carrying out negotiations on her/his
The recent decision by the Victorian Supreme Court of Appeal in Wallis Nominees (Computing) Pty Ltd v Pickett [2013] VSCA 24 has reaffirmed that the Supreme Court will be reluctant to enforce restraint of trade provisions against departing employees, unless it is satisfied that the particular restraint is reasonable, having regard to the relevant facts.
When it comes to non-compete clauses, the Civil Code of Quebec clearly sets out the required elements:
2089. The parties may stipulate in writing and in express terms that, even after the termination of the contract, the employee may neither compete with his employer nor participate in any capacity whatsoever in an enterprise which would
In France the rules governing restraint of trade provisions in the context of an employment relationship have been established through case law. Generally speaking, restrictive covenants in an employment contract will only be considered enforceable by French courts if:
During the course of their employment relationship, employees are prohibited from competing with their employer and from soliciting other employees and/or customers; this applies even if there is no express provision in the employment agreement.
With regard to a post contractual non-compete covenant agreed before the employment’s termination there are several restrictions which have
In the UK the rules governing the common law doctrine of the restraint of trade have been established through case law. A restrictive covenant in an employment contract will only be enforceable by the English courts if:
(a) it can be shown that the inclusion of the restriction protects a legitimate business interest; and
(b)
With employees job-hopping more than ever, companies put at risk their clients, strategies and technical advantages if their employees are not properly restrained from moving on to competitor companies by enforceable restraints of trade. Although the Appellate Division has said with certainty that restraints of trade clauses are presumed to be enforceable in South African
This post was contributed by Marie Kwok, Of Counsel, and Rebecca Hui, Associate, at Norton Rose Hong Kong
Under Hong Kong law, restrictive covenants (e.g. non-compete and non-solicitation clauses) are prima facie unenforceable as they are restraints of trade and against public policy. However, the Courts have upheld certain restrictive covenants provided that
We are happy to announce a new feature to this blog: every month, all participating regions will post on a common theme. We hope that this feature will give our readers a quick glance into the differences and commonalities that exist between each of the various jurisdictions on a relevant employment and labour law issue.