Restrictive covenants

[Maclary111]

I am hoping someone can point me in the right direction. I have name changed and changed a few minor details.

I have been employed for one company for over 10 years. I am looking to leave however they often pursue and threaten leavers with court action (citing restrictive covenants).
The problem is my staff handbook refers to restrictive covenants but says they are detailed elsewhere. I know I will have to contact HR and ask for the document.

My question is, does anyone know a good employment lawyer? I would prefer to speak to one before leaving to make sure my house is in order. I do have legal advice cover through my home insurance and via my work (!) however I really want to know where I stand.

Also if I ask for my signed contract and copy of covenants and they say they cannot find it, but then produce it after I leave where do I stand?

Rstrictive covenants to be valid need to be reasonable is they are unreasonable they can be removed
depends on the job but most are to stop ex employees poaching wither clients or ideas patents prototypes etc
for clients normally you are not allowed to take on a client that was with old company for a period of 6-12 months, in some cases you can't take a similar job within x number of miles
no restrictive covenant can prevent you finding work
my field was dentistry a typical covenant would say you could not work at a practice within 2 miles ( could be more if rural) within the next 2 years you can't give existing patients the details of your new premises but you can say something like I'm leaving at the end of february to work in Shrewsbury, I would imagine similar rules could apply to accounts financial advisers lawyers etc, they can also apply to hairdressers etc to basically stop you renting next door /street and taking customers, the denser the population the smaller the area that would be considered reasonable
it is highly unlikely that a covenant saying you could not work anywhere else in London would be deemed reasonable
it is reasonable that work you did while at company F belongs to company F and any copyrights patents etc with it,
I'm not a lawyer so you need to check it out but was told is a clause is deemed not reasonable it is void it is not replaced with a reasonable clause so emploters are warned that unreasoanblee clauses could make the whole thing void and enable you to move nextdoor

Thank you for your response. I do a job where a restrictive covenant would be reasonable however I haven’t seen exactly what the restrictive covenant says. As documents refer you to another document (which I cannot find on the system). My original contract was paper based I have an updated handbook which I signed for 4 years ago but again no restrictive covenant listed, just a mention that there are restrictive covenants.

Also if part of a restrictive covenant is unreasonable the whole will ne. The court won't imply that a part that is reasonable stands if the remainder fails.

Do you still have your paper version of the original contract? If so you could pretend to ask for the current version as you found the old version and was just wondering what the differences if any were.

Thank you for your response.
I am not sure I do. But I will ask for it on that basis anyway. As I doubt they will ask to see my paper version!

I just think it’s odd it’s referred to but not detailed, it seems designed to make it difficult/trip people up.

I understand there are different restrictive covenants, one where you cannot contact people you have dealt with and another where the people cannot contact you. Non solicitation and Non dealing, I don’t ever remember seeing this (as I would have googled the terms).

Does anyone have any ideas if they cannot show me the signed agreement to covenants but then produce them after I leave?

I am sorry I am being a little vague.

restrictive covenants must have reasonable time limit as well so saying you could never do Mr Smiths Accounts as you used to have him as a client when you worked for Mr X in 2012 is obviously ridiculous but a 12 month bar would be reasonable, if they want to stop mr Smith from using you or looking you up that needs to be in Mr Smiths contract not yours, very few clients would accept clauses not allowing them to move to a rivaL though they may accept you can't be a client of both at the same time
you can't be held to a covenant you do not know the details of or that they withheld from you.

you can't be held to a covenant you do not know the details of or that they withheld from you

Absolutely! But you might have signed a document ten years ago which said “ I have been given a copy of the staff handbook and agree to follow all company policies and procedures “ or something like that.

How have you been receiving updates to the staff handbook ( or whatever it’s called where you work ) ? They are usually updated several times a year to take account of changing legislation .

Thank you for your replies.

I have no intention of calling people after I have left. However I will set up a business website and update my social media so there is every chance people will contact me.

My signed handbook is on my Human Resources system with my payslips but just mentions I must abide by restrictive covenants but doesn’t list them (just says they are on another document) which isn’t on the hr system! The last signed handbook is from 5 years ago. My signature is very clearly on it and it is dated. I remember signing this. It is stored on the HR system for me to access. No detail of restrictive covenants it just tells me to refer to the restrictive covenants that form part of my employment contract.

The people are the general public. The document they sign does not say they must use me/the company or lock them in in anyway.

I do know the company send aggressive legal letters after you leave saying they have evidence that you have breached.

Sure they send an aggressive letter.

Look out for it and bin it.

They've never actually taken anyone to court, have they?

People bluster.

I have found another document that states I must abide by any restrictive covenants which form part of my contract of employment. But again no detail!

They have drawn up court papers, submitted and withdrawn pre court

the restrictive covenants must be given to you signing something which they then refuse to reveal or is not in your employment contract
When I was a dentist in a medium town ( with 4 practices) with a couple of other small towns 3 miles away (maybe another 4 -5practices) mine said you could not take another job within 5 miles within 12 months of leaving unless it was hospital based I was a high street NHS dentist I could say I was leaving if patients could be bothered to go to the town 8 miles away where I next worked I did not have to turn them away but basically my patients were transferred to the dentist that took my place.

Thanks for your response. I have still had no luck from HR, they emailed to say they do not have my original contract on file. They have sent me a few documents but none list restrictive covenants.

If they suddenly find it after I leave does anyone know where I stand?

They should be illegal imo. How dare they tell you what to do when they are no longer paying you.

I would specifically ask for the documents referred to in the most recent handbook you signed for. If the don’t send it to you then you keep a copy of that email, and the response. If you leave and then they claim you have breached these covenants that you have never seen and they can’t send you, you have evidence that they never showed you them and they won’t have a leg to stand on.

am looking to leave however they often pursue and threaten leavers with court action (citing restrictive covenants).

Threaten means nothing. Just go ahead with your plans. You haven’t seen the restrictive covenants. They would have to prove you had seen and agreed to them.

If they can't find the contract or a copy of the covenants for you on request, they will have a very difficult job showing that the covenants are reasonable.
Have you checked through your old emails? Lots of firms send out their contracts to new starters by email, you should either have it sent to you by email or been given/posted a hard copy.

Yes I have checked the old emails. I may have it in a box in my parents attic so I will check there too later this month.

Feck - I asked for a copy of my handbook and conditions etc in the email but that was ignored. Maybe I should ask again?

I do have a copy of the latest handbook, it refers to restrictive covenants but only by saying refer to your contract of employment.

It’s a bit frustrating.

My last employer hadn't covenants that wouldn't have held up in a court of law because their proposed contract effectively stopped me working in the industry for 12 months after leaving! I had the terms changed prior to signing up so they were more realistic, for example I agreed not to contact any of their customers for 12 months after leaving. I didn't agree to not work for a competitor though or work with the customer if they contacted me directly or via my new employer.