Employment Contracts - Enforcement Of Restrictive Covenants Under Various Jurisdictions

Companies and organizations include "restrictive covenants" in employment agreements, to protect their trade secrets, confidential information and human resources. The restrictive covenants essentially place restrictions and limitations on an employee to deal, solicit or engage with employees, customers, clients of their former organization as well as on the manner in which he/she is permitted to use the information they become privy to during the course of their employment. More often than not most of the employers rely on restrictive covenants in employment contracts to protect themselves from competition, however it is clear from judicial precedents that the right of an employee to employment is more important than safeguarding the interest of an employer. In Desiccant Rotors International Pvt. Ltd. v. Bappaditya Sarkar and Anr. 2006(3)ARBLR118 (Delhi) it is held that "It is this attempt to protect themselves from competition which clashes with the right of the