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Employment Law - Non-Competes

  • 08-04-2010 2:15pm
    #1
    Tester46
    Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 557 ✭✭✭


    Am I right in thinking that if a person was a senior employee with a company and had access to confidential information (supplier details, pricing information, customer lists, etc.) but never signed a non-compete agreement (and there was no non-compete in his contract) then:

    1. He is free to set up in competition with his old employer, or be employed by a competitor.

    2. Insofar as he uses confidential information from his old job for his own benefit and to compete with his old employer (or if he gives it to his new employer), then he may be exposed and might be injuncted by his old employer BUT if the confidential information was readily ascertainable by someone else e.g. if the customer list could just as easily be obtained from the golden pages, then it is not really proprietry confidential information and so he could not be injuncted.

    3. The burden of proof is on his old employer to show that (a) he had access to the confidential information through his old employment i.e. not just out of the golden pages, (b) he is now using that confidential information for his own gain or to the detriment of his old employer and (c) his old employer is suffering, or is likely to suffer loss.

    What think ye all?


Comments

  • #2
    Tester46
    Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 557 ✭✭✭Tester46


    Tester46 wrote: »
    Am I right in thinking that if a person was a senior employee with a company and had access to confidential information (supplier details, pricing information, customer lists, etc.) but never signed a non-compete agreement (and there was no non-compete in his contract) then:

    1. He is free to set up in competition with his old employer, or be employed by a competitor.

    2. Insofar as he uses confidential information from his old job for his own benefit and to compete with his old employer (or if he gives it to his new employer), then he may be exposed and might be injuncted by his old employer BUT if the confidential information was readily ascertainable by someone else e.g. if the customer list could just as easily be obtained from the golden pages, then it is not really proprietry confidential information and so he could not be injuncted.

    3. The burden of proof is on his old employer to show that (a) he had access to the confidential information through his old employment i.e. not just out of the golden pages, (b) he is now using that confidential information for his own gain or to the detriment of his old employer and (c) his old employer is suffering, or is likely to suffer loss.

    What think ye all?

    Anyone?


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