Re: Legal battle looms between GC and Yeowart

On 27 Sep, 10:25, a...@darkroom.+.com (A.Lee) wrote:
D1039 <patrick.he...@xxxxxxxxxx> wrote:
I'm not a lawyer and others will be able to comment more
authoratitivly, but if it is held at tribunal that one was unfairly
dismissed then restrictive covenants in one's contract of employment
would usually be invalid?

No, I don't think so.
You would be claiming for Breach of Contract by claiming unfair
dismissal. If you were found to be innocent of wrongdoing, then the
Employer would either need to re-employ you in a similar role, or pay
compensation to you for the losses incurred as well as projected losses
for a certain time.

The 'no similar employment after leaving us' clause in the Contract
would still be in force, as, in effect, the Employment tribunal would be
upholding the terms of the Contract, so just because the Employer has
broken the Contract, it doesnt mean the Employee can. If the Employee
does break the Contract, then the Employer can then pursue him/her for
damages, or take an injunction against them to stop them damaging their
business.

Such clauses are quite common in many Contracts, but are unenforcable
for many people, as they are a restraint of trade, but in the case of
Board Members, or Senior employees, they probably are enforcable, as
that person knows a lot about the company, so can then go and use that
knowledge to help a competitor.  A restriction of 6 months or a year
would be a reasonable term in the Contract, and likely to be upheld by a
Court.

Alan.
--
To reply by e-mail, change the ' + ' to 'plus'.

Not sure either of us is entirely right, though:

"The law on unfair dismissal states that wrongful dismissal arises
when an employer does not follow the terms of an employee’s contract
when dismissing him or her. Such a breach of contract can mean
employers are unable to enforce restrictive covenants and other
contract terms"

http://www.ms-solicitors.co.uk/employment_law/dismissal.html

Patrick
.

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