An employee's obligations towards his or her employer
generally terminate when their employment relationship terminates,
unless the parties specifically agree otherwise. For example, they
may conclude a so-called non-compete agreement. Such an agreement
may be made only for very weighty reasons that relate to an
employer's operations or an employee's position. A
non-compete agreement can be used to restrict an employee for
entering into an employment contract with the employer's
competitor or from directly engaging in competing activities.
A non-compete agreement might be appropriate when there is a
genuine need for protection as a result of the employer's
business or trade secrets or when the employer has arranged
especially valuable training for the employee. In practice, the
criteria are most often fulfilled when the departing employee has
held a leading position in the employer's company.
