Restrictive covenants are often contained in your contract of employment, but they can also be found in policy documents, share rules or elsewhere. They restrict what you can do for a certain period of time following termination of your employment. This may include a 'non-compete', which prevents you from competing with your employer once you've left the business, or a 'non-deal', which prevents you from dealing with certain individuals or companies once you've left. While it's perfectly acceptable in law for a restrictive covenant to be added to an employment contract, it may be unenforceable, on the grounds that it amounts to a restraint of trade. However, if your employer can show that the restrictive covenant is only in place in order to protect their legitimate commercial interests, and that it only extends far enough to reasonably protect those interests, a court may rule in its favour, with potentially ruinously expensive damages and a injunction for the employee a distinct possibility. That's why you should always speak to an experienced employment contract lawyer before signing a contract which includes a restrictive covenant, or potentially breaking one. Call us on 0330 041 5869 or contact us online and we'll call you.