Business Protection
BUSINESS PROTECTION: HOW TO PROTECT YOUR BUSINESS FROM CROOKED EMPLOYEES
If you are running an educational institution, sports club, recreation center, financial house, religious organization, medical center, ICT incubation center, hospitality center, manufacturing company, trading company, services company, professional firm or any kind of business; it is legitimate and enforceable in law for you to use restrictive covenants expressed as Confidentiality and Non-Disclosure Agreement; Non-Compete Agreement; or Non-Solicitation Agreement for business protection.
READ: 10 Legal Documents Your Business Should Have
These Agreements, when signed by your employees, restrict them from leaving your business to join a competitor, or starting up a similar business within your geographical area. Thus, you mitigate the risk of losing talents within your organization and clientele.
You should have employment agreements with employees whose role are essential to the company. Such employees should be required to sign the restrictive covenants which are your first line of defense to protecting your business.
A smart lawyer can structure bespoke confidentiality and non-disclosure agreement, non-competition agreement, or non-solicitation agreement that would prevent an employee from leaving your company within a specified duration; or joining a competitor; or stealing your ideas, using your ideas; starting-up within the same geographical area or enticing your customers/clients away.
Your business confidential information can be anything from the business plan, baseline survey data, financial records, marketing plan, trade secrets, client/customer database, details of pricing structures, tendering strategies, etc.
What Remedies Are Available for Breach of Restrictive Covenants?
Depending on what term of the restrictive covenants has been breached by the employee, an Order of Court can be obtained:
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Restraining the employee from joining the new employer or competitor company;
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Restraining the employee from starting-up a similar business within your geographical area;
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Restraining the employee from using your confidential information anywhere in the world;
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Award of punitive monetary damages for breach.
Lex Artifex LLP
Business Protection