Post Termination Restrictions Solicitors
Expert Advice on Restrictive Covenants in Employment Contracts
For swift, accurate and up-to-date advice on restrictive covenants in your employment contract, talk to Kervin & Barnes today on 0203 178 5360.
Kervin & Barnes’ lawyers have a comprehensive understanding of restrictive employment covenants and regularly advise UK senior executives and other high net worth individuals on post-termination clauses either in their existing employment contracts, shareholder agreements, service agreements or in contracts proposed by a new employer. This bespoke service of assessment and negotiation can be as part of a contract review or to assist in any potential litigation. In addition, post-termination restrictions in share option agreements, partnership agreements and other equity arrangements are becoming increasingly common.
What is a Restrictive Covenant?
While employees’ contracts may seek to restrict the use of any information deemed invaluable to an organisation’s success during employment, an employer may also include restrictive covenants which aim to protect company information, business contacts and its workforce after the individual’s employment ends.
Many contracts for highly skilled and senior personnel include restrictive covenant clauses. These clauses may deter potential new employers and make it difficult for an employee to join a competitor (or to be employed effectively once they join). A restrictive covenant may take the form of a non-compete clause, a non-solicitation/non-dealing clause, a non-poaching clause, or a lengthy gardening leave clause – among others. Typically a covenant stipulates a certain time period following the end of an individual’s employment during which they cannot compete with their former employer, or soliciting business from/deal with the employer’s customers by using information gained during employment.
The enforcement of restrictive covenants in employment law is highly complex and tends to affect those in senior positions who are often granted access to commercially sensitive information and/or trade secrets and have developed relationships with clients and suppliers. The more sensitive the knowledge and the more established the relationships, the more onerous the restrictions may be.
Advising Senior Employees & Directors in and around London
Breaches of restrictive covenants can be costly both financially and in terms of career development. Gaining a complete understanding of a covenant’s implications is therefore crucial. However, enforcing restrictive covenants is not always possible, since they are considered unlawful restraints of trade. Only tailored covenants that reasonably protect the legitimate business interests of the organisation are permitted.
It is crucial to understand restrictive covenants both before you sign a contract and once again before you leave employment. Based in London’s Mayfair, Kervin & Barnes lawyers provide expert restrictive covenant advice to senior employees, directors and partners in and around London and across the UK.
Recent experience includes
- Acting for two senior salespersons within financial services on their joint move to a competitor and negotiating a tri-partite non-compete agreement.
- Successfully defending two traders against a High Court application for injunctive relief and securing an indemnity costs award in favour of our clients.
- Acting for an international logistics company in their High Court claim against three ex-employees acting in breach of their post-termination restrictive covenants and pre-termination employment obligations. The case concluded with the company retaining their client, receiving its legal fees paid in full and obtaining recovery of exit packages previously paid out.
- Advising a hedge fund manager in relation to the restrictive covenants in his bonus/deferred equity awards. The matter concluded on agreed terms that allowed the retention of all awards and consent to join a competitor.
Follow this link to get an overview on the law relating to post-termination restrictions.
Talk to a specialist employment lawyer
If you would like to speak to one of our solicitors on a confidential basis about Post Termination Restrictions please call us on 0203 178 5360 or email info@kervinandbarnes.com. We act for companies as well as individuals and find that this insight is extremely useful for case strategy.
