Do Short Notice Periods Undermine The Enforceability Of Restrictive Covenants?

That was one of the issues the court had to decide in a recent case.

The judgment in Huws Gray Ltd v Gentleman(Opens in a new tab) provides helpful advice about how to draft effective restrictive covenants and the impact short notice periods can have on your ability to enforce them. This issue is particularly significant for organisations that have reduced the length of their probationary periods ahead of the new unfair dismissal regime. 

What happened?

Mr Gentleman worked as an area sales manager for Huws Gray - a builders merchant with over 250 branches across the UK. He was responsible for customer relationships in its Swindon, Newbury and Cirencester branches.

His employment was subject to a six month probationary period during which his employer could give him one week's notice to terminate the contract. After that, he was entitled to receive one month's notice.