[co-author: Gin Kynigos]
Our April update considers key employment law developments from March 2022. It includes a new case on non-compete covenants, increases to statutory pay limits, changes to right to work checks and a case looking at the factors considered by the tribunal in granting a restriction of proceedings order.
The High Court has upheld a covenant which restricted a solicitor from joining a competitor for 12 months following termination of her employment.
Saira Ali was employed by Law by Design (LBD), a Manchester-based firm which focused heavily on NHS employment law work. In May 2021, after eight years with LBD, Ms Ali resigned to join a national law firm. Around the same time, Ms Ali prepared a seven-page business plan in which she referred to ‘transitioning’ clients generating annual fee revenue of around 250,000 from LBD to her new employer. This constituted over a third of LBD’s annual turnover.
Earlier that same year, Ms Ali had entered into a service agreement and a shareholder agreement with LBD both of which contained 12-month non-compete covenants. Ms Ali received a substantial pay rise at the time of agreeing to the new terms. The non-compete covenant in the service agreement prohibited Ms Ali from undertaking any work in competition with the parts of LBD in which she had been materially involved in the 12 months preceding the termination of her employment. The...
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