When Will Post-Employment Restraints Of Trade Be Enforced?

Restraint of trade clauses, or post-employment restraints, play a crucial role in protecting the legitimate interests of the employer once an employee's contract is terminated. Covenants in restraint of trade clauses are deemed to be prima facie void as they are contrary to public policy, but they will be upheld where the restraint is reasonable to protect a legitimate interest.

A recent trend in restraint of trade clauses is the introduction of what are referred to as "cascading" clauses, which offer a number of alternative time and geographical covenants. The advantage to these is that each one is severable by a court without affecting the validity and enforceability of the restraint.