Restrictive covenant and redundancy

annieandstu

My husband was recently made redundant, his termination date was in July.  He worked in sales and had restrictive covenants written into his contract that he would not work for a competitor for 9 months upon leaving the company.  However, as he was made redundant, and forced to leave through no choice of his own, are these restrictive covenants still enforceable?  Furthermore, he was furloughed in March, and so hasn't been able to deal with his customers in a professional capacity since then.   He has been in touch with his old company and they have agreed to reduce the restrictive covenants from 9 months to 6 months, but this is still a long time to be prevented from earning.  He has been approached by a competitor about a similar sales role to the one he had at his old company and he is very keen to join them, but it feels extremely unfair that he can't accept a job, especially in the current climate when jobs are so hard to come by, for fear of his old company threatening legal action.  Any advice would be most gratefully received. 

AskAsk

this link may help
https://www.warnergoodman.co.uk/site/blog/news/restrictive-covenants-dismissal-redundancy#:~:text=Therefore, a restrictive covenant may,dismissed or been made redundant.&text=Under these circumstances, you will,be enforceable by your employer.

Thrugelmir

annieandstu said:

 He has been approached by a competitor about a similar sales role to the one he had at his old company and he is very keen to join them, but it feels extremely unfair that he can't accept a job, 

Why not? The new employer is going to be understanding. No doubt won't be concerned about the issue in the short term. The contacts your husband has are of value in the longer term. 

thebrexitunicorn

Hi, it might be worth getting a legal opinion on whether this restrictive covenant is enforceable.  The exact terms will be relevant, geographical area and other specifics to establish whether it is reasonably necessary for the protection of the employer’s business.   If it goes beyond this it’s unlikely to be enforceable. 

getmore4less

They key is will any new employer help defending the claim from the old employer if it happens or just dismiss.

daveyjp

These clauses generally only apply where a member of staff resigns as they may have been offered a new job based on their contacts.

If he has been made redundant his old contract is over and restricting his opportunities for a new role may not be deemed reasonable, especially during a deep recession.

[Deleted User]

I had a simlar contract many years ago but 4 months RP, on being offered another job quickly I got our solicitor to write a strongly worded letter and the old employer dropped the matter.