ARTICLE · 28 JULY 2015

Employment Restrictive Covenants In A Nutshell

Hogan Dowling McNamara

Explore more from Hogan Dowling McNamara

What is a restrictive covenant and when will it be enforceable? A business can use restrictive covenants to protect its interests by restricting an employee's activities for a period of time after their employment has ended.

IrelandEmployment and HR

Siobhán Buckley

What is a restrictive covenant and when will it be enforceable?

A business can use restrictive covenants to protect its interests by restricting an employee's activities for a period of time after their employment has ended.
A restrictive covenant will only be enforceable if it protects a legitimate business interest, otherwise it will be regarded as an unlawful restraint of trade. The only recognised business interests are:
- trade connections (including the relationship between the business's customers and its workforce); and
- trade secrets and confidential information.
If the business has a legitimate business interest to protect, the restriction will be enforceable, provided it is no wider than is necessary to protect that interest. The covenant must be limited in terms of the restrictive activities themselves, and also apply:

We operate a free-to-view policy, asking only that you register in order to read all of our content. Please login or register to view the rest of this article.

Register for freeORLog in

Related Articles

Your Top Questions About Our Ireland Trainee Solicitor Programme Answered By Current Trainees

IrelandEmployment and HR

Managing PHI And Ill-Health Early Retirement In Ireland: A Guide For Employers

IrelandEmployment and HR

Why Ireland’s Legal Market Offers Exciting Opportunities For Future Lawyers

IrelandEmployment and HR

The Reference Risk: How To Handle Employment Reference Requests

IrelandEmployment and HR

Meet The Mistress: How A Business Restructure Might Complicate The Irish Employment And Immigration Relationship

IrelandEmployment and HR

Legal Intelligence Newsletters: sign up for the latest legal and regulatory news on your chosen topics

Read more about

Related Comparative Guides

Comparative Guide

Employee Incentives

Comparative Guide

Technology Outsourcing

See more popular content from

Employment and HR

RDJ Employment Law Round-Up: September 2026

A comprehensive review of six significant Irish employment law decisions from September 2026, examining critical issues including redundancy during protected leave, settlement agreement enforcement...

IrelandEmployment and HR

Ireland's Revised Roadmap On Minimum Annual Remuneration Thresholds For Employment Permits: Key Changes And What They Mean For Employers

The Department of Enterprise, Tourism and Employment (DETE) has unveiled its roadmap to increase minimum annual remuneration (MAR) thresholds across all employment...

IrelandEmployment and HR

The Future Of Hybrid Work: Balancing Flexibility & Productivity

As Ireland's large employers increasingly mandate fixed office attendance days, new research reveals how hybrid working is evolving from unrestricted flexibility toward more structured models. With productivity concerns driving policy changes and three-day office weeks emerging as the standard, businesses face the challenge of balancing operational needs with employee wellbeing and retention priorities.

IrelandEmployment and HR

William Fry LLP

Neurodivergence And Reasonable Accommodation: What Employers Need To Know

Employers face growing challenges in supporting neurodivergent employees, with up to 20% of the global population potentially affected by conditions like ASD, ADHD, and dyslexia. Irish law mandates reasonable accommodations under the Employment Equality Acts, but what constitutes appropriate measures and when does the burden become disproportionate? Recent case law reveals the narrow interpretation of employer defenses and the significant financial consequences of failing to properly assess and implement wo

IrelandEmployment and HR

Ireland Postpones Pay Transparency: What’s Next?

The Pay Transparency Directive (Directive) aims to strengthen the principle of equal pay for equal work or work of equal value between men and women and expands upon current Gender Pay Gap (GPG) reporting requirements. Pay transparency measures introduced by the Directive will empower workers to access information to challenge pay inequality within an organisation.

IrelandEmployment and HR

William Fry LLP

The Reference Risk: How To Handle Employment Reference Requests

Poor handling of a reference request can increase an employer's financial exposure where it contributes to a former employee's ongoing loss following an unfair dismissal.

IrelandEmployment and HR

Should I Stay Or Should I Go? Performance Management Or Exit Option?

Irish employers are increasingly exploring the 'PIP or Go' model as an alternative to traditional performance management processes, offering underperforming employees a choice between entering a formal performance improvement plan or accepting an exit package. While this approach can expedite internal processes and reduce administrative burden, it carries significant legal risks including constructive dismissal claims, discrimination allegations, and potential challenges to subsequent dismissal procedures.

IrelandEmployment and HR

The Law Relating to Industrial Action in Ireland

Given the recent, well publicised escalation of industrial action by public sector unions, we thought it timely to examine the law governing industrial action in Ireland.

IrelandEmployment and HR

New Pay-Related Unemployment Benefit Introduced

Parliament has approved legislation to change the formula and some parameters for the existing Jobseeker's Benefit, resulting in a higher benefit for most individuals, and to implement a slight increase in employer...

IrelandEmployment and HR

Pensions Authority Issues Guidance On Operation Of Pensions Insolvency Payments Scheme

In April 2016, the Pensions Authority published prescribed guidance in relation to the Section 48A procedure under the Pensions Act 1990 (as amended).

IrelandEmployment and HR