Non-Competition Clause May Increase Reasonable Notice Period

A recent decision from British Columbia is the latest in a small number of cases that have considered the impact of a non-competition clause in an employment agreement to the plaintiff's ability to find alternative work and ultimately the length of the reasonable notice period awarded at trial.

In Ostrow v. Abacus Management, 2014 BCSC 938 (CanLII), the plaintiff, a specialist in international and U.S. tax, had been employed with Abacus for five months at the time of the termination of his employment. Prior to that, he had served as a consultant for a related entity for approximately nine months. During the contract negotiation discussions, the court found that the plaintiff had successfully negotiated out of the contract a termination provision providing him with only the minimum standards under the applicable employment standards legislation and that he had received various assurances about job security. The plaintiff's contract also included a six month