Recent amendments to the Employment Standards
Act, 2000 (Ontario) (the "Act") prohibit employers
from entering into an employment contract or other agreement with
an employee that is, or that includes, a non-compete
agreement.
A non-compete agreement is defined as "an agreement, or any
part of an agreement, between an employer and an employee that
prohibits the employee from engaging in any business, work,
occupation, profession, project or other activity that is in
competition with the employer's business after the employment
relationship between the employee and the employer ends." This
prohibition on non-compete agreements came into effect on December
2, 2021.
It is not possible to contract out of this prohibition, and
except for the exceptions noted below, if an employer contravenes
the new legislation, the non-compete agreement is void. Following
the introduction of the amendments, employers have asked whether
existing non-compete agreements are still
