Disputes with Ex-employees

When you employ staff in your business, it’s perfectly normal for some of them to move on to pastures new.  Most people are good leavers, but where this is not the case you may end up taking legal action to prevent them harming your business.  The most common examples we see are ex-employees breaching restrictive covenants and confidentiality clauses in their employment contracts.  If this happens to your business, you need an expert team of litigation solicitors who also understand the employment law issues to fight your corner.

It may be that an ex-employee has built strong relationships with your clients and is planning to set up business in competition with you, targeting your customers and attempting to poach your staff.  One example where this commonly happens is when they are in a senior sales position and have the main face-to-face relationship with your clients.  Another example is in personal service businesses such as beauticians, barbers, physiotherapists and chiropractors where the employee delivers the service and you may never meet the client yourself.

This could have a huge impact on your business, so it’s important first to establish if there were any restrictive covenants included in their contract of employment that legally prevent them from stealing your customers.  If these restrictions were included, it may mean that the ex-employee is in breach of their contract, and therefore, you have grounds to bring a preventative claim.

Confidentiality clauses are usually included in employment contracts to keep your sensitive business information secret.  If an ex-employee is not upholding this and is using your confidential information in their new role, you may have grounds to make a claim against them for this confidentiality breach.

If restrictive covenants and confidentiality clauses are included in contracts of employment and are properly drafted, they are enforceable in the courts.  You can then seek damages from your ex-employees if they breach them and potentially prevent them from breaching them again.

Clauses which are too widely drawn will be deemed unreasonable, and the courts will refuse to uphold them.  This can include clauses that cover too wide a geographical area, for too long a time period or are disproportionate given the seniority of the employee.  As a result it is worth reviewing your existing contracts to make sure they are enforceable before a problem occurs.  Our Dispute Resolution team works closely with our Employment team and can identify if you need to make any changes.

If you are in dispute with an ex-employee and need a team of expert solicitors to fight your corner then we are here to help.  Contact us today to book a free 30-minute consultation and find out exactly where you stand legally.

Tel:       01245 893400
Email:  info@backhouse-solicitors.co.uk
Visit:    17 Duke Street, Chelmsford, CM1 1JU
Or send us a message through the Contact Us page on this website.