New terms of employment

full-time-mum

My OH has been asked by his company to sign some new terms of employment.

I don't know the exact wording but he's not happy with what he is being asked.

• He now has to seek permission to take on any other employment. So,for example, if he wanted to get a job in a pub he'd have to ask.
• He isn't allowed to leave and go and work for a competitor or use any of the knowledge he has gained elsewhere.
• Any ideas or work that he does whilst employed by this company is the property of said company. He writes computer software but seems to think that if he had an idea for a children's book or if he wrote a computer game, the company would deem that it belonged to them. I don't get the impression that there is any mention of during work hours/on work premises etc.

Is any of this normal and, if he signs it, is it enforceable?

feesh

This is pretty normal to be honest - I've had these clauses in all my job contracts since I left Uni 10 years ago.

Sounds like his company is finally playing catch up!

(NB I have always ignored the "no other employment" clause - I have had a 2nd job in all of my jobs at some point, including my current one - there's no way of my employers finding out and quite frankly, its none of their business as long as it doesn't affect my work).

maninthestreet

feesh wrote: »

This is pretty normal to be honest - I've had these clauses in all my job contracts since I left Uni 10 years ago.

Sounds like his company is finally playing catch up!

(NB I have always ignored the "no other employment" clause - I have had a 2nd job in all of my jobs at some point, including my current one - there's no way of my employers finding out and quite frankly, its none of their business as long as it doesn't affect my work).

The bit about not being able to leave and work for a competitor isn't normal. An ex-employer cannot restrain your ability to trade in such a way. Same goes for not being able to use any knowledge gained he has gained. As long as that knowledge isn't proprietary, there is nothing an ex-employer can do to stop you using that knowledge in another job.

feesh

maninthestreet wrote: »

The bit about not being able to leave and work for a competitor isn't normal.

Is it not? I know that if I handed my notice in tomorrow and was going to work for a rival company, I would be put on gardening leave straight away (oh that would be lovely!). My line manager was put on 3 months gardening leave when he left, someone else more senior had 6 months!!!

I suppose it's not that you CAN'T work for a competitor, its just that you can't go straight from one job into the other. There's definitely something about it in my current contract.

liney

maninthestreet wrote: »

The bit about not being able to leave and work for a competitor isn't normal. An ex-employer cannot restrain your ability to trade in such a way. Same goes for not being able to use any knowledge gained he has gained. As long as that knowledge isn't proprietary, there is nothing an ex-employer can do to stop you using that knowledge in another job.

You can prevent an ex employee being based upto a very small radius (ie a mile) from your business premis and for a set period of time (such as 6 months) prevent them from dealing with your old contacts when they start a new job. We currently have a new starter with such restrictions and our contracts say exactly the same thing. It's common in Recruitment and Sales. The restrictions must not be unreasonable, and 1 mile or base/6 months no contact, are the terms generally deemed as reasonable in my industry.

I would ask for clarification on point 3, as it should only apply to work in his own field i believe.

Permission for another job is common too; you would withdraw permission, for example, if your employee wasn't performing but was working until the small hours in a nightclub the evening before.

whitfreak

Permission to work a second job is a relatively standard condition.
Non-compete clauses I'm not entirely sure they are enforcable, and if they are I'd imagine there would have to be a reasonable restrictions. Gardening leave is a different ball game and perfectly legal as your getting paid, and can technically be called into work...
Are they claiming any ideas had at any time or only ones that are related to his job, or were developed using company resources. In the first case, its not reasonable and should be changed (and does mean they own the novel he's writing). In the second its hard to argue against but its limitations should be well defined (and keep that novel off the company email...)

cazziebo

maninthestreet wrote: »

The bit about not being able to leave and work for a competitor isn't normal..

It's VERY normal and enforceable.

However, depending on the position, threat to the business etc, most companies will not pursue because of time and cost involved.

What the company cannot do is restrict someone to the extent that they can't earn a living, but they can try to protect their business. As Liney says, this may involve a geographic limit. In some businesses it might be a trading area ie so a recruitment consultant can't work in eg accountancy recruitment in York for 6 months.

2nd Job one is quite normal - and your OH will be in a better position to judge the company's attitude to it. I wouldn't be happy with professional staff working in a nightclub until 3am - as it's unlikely they would be as creative and productive as required by their job. I know our web designers do free lance work in their own time - no problem with that. The danger of doing it and not declaring the job, then it's a flagrant breach of contract and could result in dismissal.

The IP clause is a difficult one - and a lot of the cases that do get to court have differing outcomes. The company has to prove that it is their IP rather than the employee's. If something was completely unrelated to the business of the company, and evidence to support that it was done in the employee's own time, then there is unlikely to be a case. If it is closely related to the company's business, involved company resources (even time) then more of a case.

SomeBozo

The first and last condition is entirel normal.

The bit about working for competitors is a bit more complicated. There have been cases won and lost depending on the type of business etc.

Bozo

honeypop

Yep all standard clauses in a contract, albeit like some have said a little complicated to enforce a couple... but all very normal.

I was expecting something a bit more strange! But don't worry, you'd probably get these clauses in a contract wherever he worked these days and is nothing out of the ordinary.

ceridwen

...and if he writes a novel....obviously morally and I would imagine legally its his property...but he could always use a nom de plume:D

jonnyd281

I had a non-competitor clause in my contract when I worked in shore based industry, and my current contract states I'm not allowed to work for anyone else without permission even whilst on leave (and it is a disciplinary offence if your caught).
The IP clause I have had ever since I started working after Uni, and I think the Uni regulations had something about copyright for certain pieces of student work.