The government released its rather modestly titled ‘Smarter regulation to grow the economy’ policy paper in May 2023, announcing proposed changes to shake up employment law and “cut red tape for businesses and save 1 billion per year while safeguarding the rights of workers”.
We focus on the two proposed changes which will be of widest application to employers generally as well as to football clubs: (i) limiting non-compete clauses to 3 months; and (ii) rolled-up holiday pay.
Non-compete clauses
Post-termination non-compete clauses often divide opinion. On one view, a capitalist, pro-competition society seeks to provide the best price, products, services, and so on, to consumers, and so shouldn’t stifle competition – the uncompetitive businesses simply go out of business. Non-compete clauses – which usually prevent a former employee joining or setting up a competitor – are, on the face of it, anathema to that.
On the other hand, companies would have little incentive to invest in research and development, to invest in their workforce, and so on, if they had no way of protecting such time, money and effort from the threat of employees walking straight across to a competitor equipped with the gains of that investment. Without such protection, risk – and therefore innovation and advancement to the benefit of society/the consumer – would be stifled.
Non-competes, then, are grounded in similar principles to intellectual property rights. Like IP rights, the time-limited nature...
BOSTON, May 27, 2026 /PRNewswire/ — Whistleblower Law Collaborative (WLC) proudly announces that Advanced Certified Paralegal Kelly Shivery has recently earned the CMMC Certified Professional (CCP...