Non-solicitation agreements

Small and medium-sized businesses, by contrast, are lean. Employees do many jobs, and job descriptions are seldom defined by a single function. By virtue of necessity, employees in small and medium-sized business often have access to information or clients that they would not otherwise have access to if they worked in a large company.

For these reasons, it is highly suggested that small and medium-sized employers have a non-solicitation agreement and that their employees sign-off as having read, understood and agreed to it.

An agreement must be what we legally refer to as a restrictive covenant; that is, it restricts a former employee from certain activities which might negatively impact their former employer. Typically, a non-solicitation agreement prevents a former employee from soliciting the clients and employees of their former employer. A non-solicitation agreement is not intended, however, to protect a company where the business would naturally flow to a competitor. It should be noted that in some instances a non-solicitation agreement might also extend to the former employee – vendor relationship.

A non-solicitation agreement must be reasonable if the employer expects the courts to uphold it. Generally speaking, the agreement must apply to a specific geographical area, must be for a specific duration of time and the scope of the restriction must be even-handed. A non-solicitation agreement must not be seen as overreaching or restricting a person’s ability to make a living. Agreements that are deemed too broad will not be upheld by a court of law and are therefore not worth the piece of paper they are written on. Unfortunately, the law provides few safeguards to employers to protect their business.

Submitted by Tanya Sieliakus of HRpros. Tanya is a Certified Diversity Trainer, certified by Executive Diversity Services, Seattle, WA.
She has trained nearly 1000 people across North America and Europe. 

Find Tanya at www.hr-pros.ca or contact her at (902) 293-0253