can a business say you cant contact any of their clients after leaving.

meluvnext

I have been looking through my contract and it says the following

you will not either directly or through any other person for a period of six months following the termination of your employment for whatever reason contact any of the clients of the company or any of the customers of the clients you dealt with at any time during the 12 months preceeding the termination of your employment this applies to any recruitment/employment agency you may go to work with/for.

What happens if there is a job advertisement for one of the companies they deal with and what happens if one of the recruitment/employment agencies also deal with the same clients, does this mean I am not allowed to speak to the clients?

scooby088

Yes I think you cannot to talk to the company for 6 months as you have signed a contract to say as such, I had this clause in my contract but i wasn't too bothered when leaving my last employer as i went into a completly different job.

meluvnext

so you cant even apply for a job even though you are not going to drag yourself down and sslate the previous place you worked for?

dmg24

scooby088 wrote: »

Yes I think you cannot to talk to the company for 6 months as you have signed a contract to say as such, I had this clause in my contract but i wasn't too bothered when leaving my last employer as i went into a completly different job.

It is not nearly as simple as that. A restriction of trade clause needs to be reasonable, and what is reasonable largely depends on your current role and responsibilities.

OP, the primary purpose of the clause is to ensure that you do not lose your current employer business, or share trade secrets. So, if you are currently in a sales role and you go to another sales role in the same industry, you could not contact your old clients and ask them to move their business.

What role do you currently hold, and what do you intend to do?

meluvnext

i was a recruitment consultant and i would like to go into another job similar or in admin for a transport/distribution company. I had to hand in notice as they would not allow me to take time off to take disabled child to hospital appointments.

I was responsible for 24//7 manning of the recruitment desk for hgv drivers and clients, as a result I knew the clients well. I have built up a good relationship with many of them and sincce leaving some of them are still in contact with me as a friend.

of course id never try to poach business away from my previous company

dmg24

meluvnext wrote: »

i was a recruitment consultant and i would like to go into another job similar or in admin for a transport/distribution company. I had to hand in notice as they would not allow me to take time off to take disabled child to hospital appointments.

You shouldn't have a problem in an admin role, but going to an equivalent role may lead to them trying to enforce the clause. Having said that, waiver of such a clause can be negotiated, and given that they could be in breach of your statotory rights as a carer you may have leverage.

If you do think it is going to cause a problem, it would be worth contacting a solicitor to look at your contract more closely.

dawn_rose

hiya many years back i worked in recruitment too i was a consultant and left due to stress of the job, 60hr week and being pregnant didnt mix, i then went temping myself doing admin jobs until i had my baby. i worked for 2 of my clients and never had any repercussions. I think its more taking away the contacts of the business with you if you moved to another agency as a consultant they tend to go mad at. in this case they use to send nasty letters to you saying if you continued you would go to court ect. i dunno what agency you worked for but they may have similar policy. i worked in industrial and driving.

jazzyman01

It really does just protect the current employer against you contacting their clients that you dealt with. It does not stop you working for a competitor although they may write to your new employer to advise them of the clause in your contract.

Ihatecameron

I think any clauses in an employment contract can only apply while you work for the company, as you no longer work for the company, there is nothing they can do.

andy.m_2

incorrect.

Any contract clause once proven to be fair and reasonable applies.

It is fair and resonable to expect a recruitment "executive" to not take all of their clients with them to the next firm.
This is exactly why this type clause was set up, basically the firm owns the client list, not the rep.

Ihatecameron

Any contract clause once proven to be fair and reasonable applies.

Was the clause proven to be fair and reasonable?