Troublesome contract clauses in the employment agreement

Although the conditions imposed by the employer observe the regulations, they can prove to be troublesome for employees, who probably don’t always appreciate the significant effect the clauses have on their contractual rights and remedies.

“We surely come across with a variety of legal challenges dealing with employees, wherein employers or employees get sued. The employees however are feared. They are satisfied with leaving a job where the climate isn’t favorable to them and it is quite hard to convince them that they are perfectly entitled to claim their rights,” Andreea Lisievici, attorney at Tuca Zbarcea & Associates told Wall-Street.

As for the non-competition clause, this is the most often restriction under which the employee agrees not to pursue a similar profession at a competitor or to start a business after the termination of contract and gain competitive advantage by using confidential information about their former employer. The non-compete clause or covenant-not-to-compete clause is effective after the termination of contract, spreading over 6 months at the most, or 2 years for top management positions.

What many employers don’t know is that if certain conditions are not clearly stipulated in the employment contract, the clause can be declared unenforceable.

“The covenant-not-to-compete clause must be very clearly stipulated, as to state the type of activity to be performed by the employee or the type and characteristics of the market wherein the employee is banned to be engaged upon. Furthermore, the provisions must define the geographical area deemed off-limits to former employee, as well as a specific time frame before the former employee could seek a job in a similar field, enough to confer the employer the comfort that the employee is not carrying the confidential knowledge of the company’s inner activities”, said Lisievici.