Changes To Non-Competes: What Should Employers Do?

The Government has announced plans to limit the length of non-compete clauses in employment contracts in Great Britain to three months. This would represent a significant change to the current position. While non-competes must be no longer than necessary to protect the employer's interests, case law suggests the upper limit for senior executives is currently six to twelve months for non-competes. However, we do not know yet when (or if) this limit will come into force. It requires new legislation which the government plans to table "when parliamentary time allows" and it remains to be seen whether this can be done before the next general election. Despite the uncertainty, we set out below the key implications should the limit be introduced and what employers can be doing now to be prepared.