I have been recommend your name by another MN'r
k, this is on behalf of my DH, he/we really need some employment law advice. He has a non-compete clause in his contract, we need to know, given his back story (details to follow) do they have a right to enforce the non-compete clause which states that I can?t work for a competitor for 3 months? And, if I just ignored it, would they realistically pursue it?
So MR GAPANTS writes--
For the past 6 months or so during PDPs (Personal Development Plans) my boss has been informing me that she thinks that there are things going on in the business that might involve movement/promotion for me. She said that I should try to hand over some work to colleagues, so that I would be more easily moved to a new position. At my most recent PDP she implied that she didn?t know whether anything would materialise when I pushed to be able to speak to the CEO or directors about their plans for me. She then advised that it might be a good time to look for an external job to use as leverage with my current employers.
This I did, I found a job advertised and got put forward for interview. I informed my boss of this and she said it sounded like a good job, but I was still keen to stay with my current employers.
When I got offered the position with the company I had interviewed with I spoke to my boss. She said I should take it, but as my current employers have a bonus scheme which would mean I would miss out on my bonus payment in March, I didn?t think I could make the sums add up - my wife goes to statutory maternity pay in April, so I need the bonus to see us through. I informed my recruiter that I was finding it difficult to make the sums add up, and she went back to the new company to see if they could move on salary or an up front payment.
My boss then called and said that she could pay me the bonus if I accepted the new job as she thought I had earnt it. She told me that she had had the offer authorised by a director. I relayed this information to my recruiter, who in turn told the new company. They informed us that there was now another candidate who they were waiting to interview. I informed by boss, so she withdrew her offer.
Next the new company asked me to do a psychometric test, which I completed. The following week I was offered the job once again, which I accepted once I received the offer letter. The messing about by my boss left me with no choice but to accept the position - the new job is a good one and the new company a really good one, but my loyalty still really lay with the old company.
I handed in my resignation, told my boss that I was regretful but gave my reasons, which she accepted. She said she would check whether she could renegotiate my bonus but wasn?t hopeful.
This week I have been handing over my accounts, and today I went in to the office to meet my boss. She brought the Director of HR in, and they told me I was being placed on immediate Garden Leave, which was great. They took my laptop and phone on the spot and then showed me my contract. I have a non-compete clause in my contract and they told me that they are going to enforce it. That would mean I can?t start the new job until 3 months after my 2 months of Garden Leave as the new company are in competition. Whilst I accept that this clause exists to protect the business, there are also clauses which state that I can?t deal with any of my current customers for 3 months which I think offer enough protection.
Bearing in mind only a few weeks ago they were actively encouraging my to leave by telling me that I could receive a bonus payment despite leaving, do they have a right to enforce the non-compete clause which states that I can?t work for a competitor for 3 months? And, if I just ignored it, would they realistically pursue it?