Damages for loss of key employee

aroominyork

Say a company employs a person on a fixed term contract in a business-critical role. Just before a key project begins the employee refuses to turn up for work, having had a better offer from a competitor. It is clear the employee will not return and he essentially forces his employer to release him, with the employer negotiating a compensation payment from the individual’s new employer.

The company is now forced to find a replacement for this critical role, at short notice and from a small pool of suitably qualified people. The current employers of potential candidates know they can secure a stupidly high compensation figure for releasing such a person but the company has little choice but to pay.

Does the company have a claim for damages against either the employee or the company that poached him, to the amount of how much they had to pay over the odds for a replacement person?

Some of you will guess this is what increasingly happens in football, but why doesn’t it go to court? Example: Thibault Courtois (a goalkeeper) refuses to return to Chelsea for training because he wants to sign for Real Madrid. Chelsea get £35m for him from Real. They then find themselves paying €80m for Kepa Arrizabalaga who, to put it mildly, turns out not to be very good at football.

[Deleted User]

Any claim would be against your employee for breaking the contract. 

The new employer has done nothing wrong.

Thrugelmir

Nothing to stop an employee walking out of a job. That's life. 

getmore4less

with the employer negotiating a compensation payment from the individual’s new employer.

.............stupidly high compensation figure for releasing such a person but the company has little choice but to pay.

Looks like the first negotiation to release was not good enough.

Also probably blocks any further claim as any sensible new company would wrap the employees liability into any compensation package to a previous employer.

Also suggests the initial contract/job was not quite attractive enough to keep the person working along with insufficient non compete clauses.

Undervalued

Thrugelmir said:

Nothing to stop an employee walking out of a job. That's life. 

Providing the employee gives whatever notice they have agreed to in their contract (which doesn't have to be in writing, although obviously easier to prove if it is). They don't have to actually start work for the contract to be in force.

Like any contract, if it is not fulfilled the other party can look to them for damages if they have suffered a loss as a result. As with any such claim they would have a duty to take reasonable steps to minimise their losses.

oh_really

Why is there no non compete clause to account for this situation?

Sounds as if the current employer may have royaly goofed up.

Undervalued

Deleted_User said:

Any claim would be against your employee for breaking the contract. 

The new employer has done nothing wrong.

They might have if they knowingly enticed the individual to breach their contract.

getmore4less

Undervalued said:

Deleted_User said:

Any claim would be against your employee for breaking the contract. 

The new employer has done nothing wrong.

They might have if they knowingly enticed the individual to breach their contract.

Looks like they may have already paid out,

If smart they would have made sure that blocked any further claims against them as the new employer.

TELLIT01

A former employee can certainly be taken to court for breach of contract, and the employer can show they have suffered financial loss due to the actions of the employee.  If the new employer has already paid compensation to the former covering any loss there would seem to be little point in doing so.

Manxman_in_exile

I may be wrong but I suspect the OP is not asking a real question.

I think they are really asking about the crazy world that is modern day football.

I blame the agents... 

(In the unlikely event the OP is asking a "real world" question, the original employer should have negotiated a better compensation package - it's their own fault)

aroominyork

Manxman_in_exile said:

I may be wrong but I suspect the OP is not asking a real question.

I think they are really asking about the crazy world that is modern day football.

Exactly that.