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Business, taken personally.

Restrictive covenants in employment contracts

Posted by Lotty Reeves on 16th September 2014

A Court of Appeal decision provides a stark reminder that restrictive covenants must be carefully thought through and worded, with rigorous consideration given to the underlying intention and drafting of the clause. The Court of Appeal overturned the High Court’s decision to read words into a non-compete covenant and held that the only intepretation available was the one that rendered the covenant useless.

In its view, the employer had simply not thought through the extent to which its chosen words would in fact provide adequate protection. An employer cannot rely on a court to re-write a poorly drafted covenant and remedy its bad bargain.

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