Fidelity agreement

cocaholic

How much does having a fidelity agreement count when seeking employment?

livedadream

do you mean a non compete?

The_Conductor

Depends entirely on the industry, and the ethics of the companies concerned.

cocaholic

It's pretty much non-compete but is shrouded in legal language. I'm not sure if it's just that I can't work for a competitor or can't work with a competitor and client

cocaholic

The_Conductor wrote: »

Depends entirely on the industry, and the ethics of the companies concerned.

It's financial services. I would be interested in working for a client

livedadream

so did you sign a contract you dont understand or are you asking for legal advice on a contract you are about to sign?

seamus

General fidelity agreement/non-compete clauses are not legally enforceable in Ireland.

In general they are only permitted in scenarios where the employer has a specific business interest to protect, only apply for a reasonable amount of time and are as limited as possible.

So your employer couldn't say that you're not permitted to work in that industry across the whole island. But they may say that you're prohibited from operating in key strategic locations (specified, not in general) for, say 2 months after you leave. This gives the employer sufficient time to appoint a new employee to manage those locations, and prevents you from swooping in on day one and trying to poach all of your old clients.

More info here:
http://employmentrightsireland.com/tag/non-compete-clause/

If you're looking to go work for a client who doesn't directly compete with your current employer, then there's very little they can do to stop you. However, even without a fidelity agreement you would be bound to confidentiality and legally prohibited from revealing trade secrets or engaging in backdoor deals.

cocaholic

livedadream wrote: »

so did you sign a contract you dont understand or are you asking for legal advice on a contract you are about to sign?

I've signed it before

Jim2007

cocaholic wrote: »

I've signed it before

Is the client aware of the restrictions and what would there reaction be if things get difficult, walk away?

livedadream

cocaholic wrote: »

livedadream wrote: »

so did you sign a contract you dont understand or are you asking for legal advice on a contract you are about to sign?

I've signed it before

so you signed it without understanding it?

Chancer3001

livedadream wrote: »

so you signed it without understanding it?

Jaysus alright, what do you want us to do? Laugh and point at the absolutely stupid, thick idiot who signed something without understanding it? Oh look at how stupid he is.
Ps - id never do that cos I'm claaaaaaaaaaas.

Let's try give the op some help if you have any to offer

davo10

Chancer3001 wrote: »

Jaysus alright, what do you want us to do? Laugh and point at the absolutely stupid, thick idiot who signed something without understanding it? Oh look at how stupid he is.
Ps - id never do that cos I'm claaaaaaaaaaas.

Let's try give the op some help if you have any to offer

To be fair, your contract has the terms and conditions you agree to, if you read it, understand it and sign it, then you shouldn't go back later and say that you aren't going to be bound by what you agreed to.

In relation to non compete clauses, the advice I got from a HR consultant who drew up my employee contracts was that they are non enforceable, but in small industries or industries where information is sensitive they are worth taking into consideration by the employee. Word of mouth can be a killer in these situations and when you do it to one employer, the next one (after the inevitable phonecall) will be wary that you will also do it to them.

livedadream

Chancer3001 wrote: »

livedadream wrote: »

so you signed it without understanding it?

Jaysus alright, what do you want us to do? Laugh and point at the absolutely stupid, thick idiot who signed something without understanding it? Oh look at how stupid he is.
Ps - id never do that cos I'm claaaaaaaaaaas.

Let's try give the op some help if you have any to offer

i'm trying to understand the situation which is what most professionals will do when asked for advise. (also dont see you offering any help mate?)
but fundamentally yes it is incredibly stupid to sign something you dont comprehend.
OP, non competes arnt enforceable in Ireland unless it pertains to intellectual property or trade secrets (proprietary information)
What id ask you to check is- when you signed it was it made clear what limitations were being asked- ie can you work for any company in Ireland after a garden leave or just within a certain radius? or can you not work for competitors? if in sales in finance can you take clients with you, is there an embargo on contacting them or are your leads your and not the company. you mention its finance but not what part- HR, tech- sales- etc etc all vary, In general working for a client isnt a problem for employers.
Like Davo said above, the problem with it is a small country and people talk, officially and unofficially particuallry in that industry.
Best advise i can give is approach your current employer about it, explain the situation and see what they say, most people are reasonable in this situation.
and i work in an industry that has enforceable non competes for our scientists and sales reps, but we just keep them on garden leave after removing access until its up.

Jim2007

Chancer3001 wrote: »

Jaysus alright, what do you want us to do? Laugh and point at the absolutely stupid, thick idiot who signed something without understanding it? Oh look at how stupid he is.
Ps - id never do that cos I'm claaaaaaaaaaas.

Let's try give the op some help if you have any to offer

Strange you seem to have forgotten the part where you actually offered advice....

Chancer3001

Jim2007 wrote: »

Strange you seem to have forgotten the part where you actually offered advice....

Not strange at all.

I've no advice to give.

I'm looking to see what people's advice to the op is too. So i can learn from his mistake maybe.

Not very helpful pointing and laughing at the guy