Publication
GCR Guide to Data & Antitrust – Competition law and data
Miranda Cole and Francesco Salis from our Brussels office are the authors of a chapter on the evolving view of data in the application of competition law.
Global | Publication | August 2017
Countries across Europe have differing requirements relating to the validity of non-competition agreements between employers and employees following the termination of an employment contract. We provide a brief comparative analysis of the requirements in Italy, Germany, France, Poland, the Netherlands and the UK. Please get in touch with your local Norton Rose Fulbright contact or any of the contributors to this publication to learn more about this topic.
We have considered the general requirements for the enforceability of a non-compete restriction as a matter of UK employment law. Please note that the starting point for any post-termination restrictive covenants under English law is that they are void as an unlawful restraint of trade as a matter of public policy. The English courts have, however, recognised the enforceability of such restrictions and the general rule is that they will typically be enforceable so long as they do not go further than is reasonably necessary in order to protect a legitimate interest. A bare non-compete restriction is the most onerous type of post-termination restrictive covenant. It will only be enforceable where a non-dealing or non-solicitation clause does not work to protect the relevant interest. This would be the case, for example, where it is not customer connection that is the issue but confidential information. Please also note that it can never be guaranteed that a particular restriction will be enforceable as this will be a decision for a court asked to determine such an issue. Arguably, the best protection an employer may have is the use of a contractual garden leave clause which would prevent the employee from competing during the employee’s notice period although not all contracts of employment contain such clauses.
Publication
Miranda Cole and Francesco Salis from our Brussels office are the authors of a chapter on the evolving view of data in the application of competition law.
Publication
Miranda Cole, Lara White and Christoph Ritzer from our Brussels, London and Frankfurt offices are the authors of a chapter on how the interplay between competition and privacy law is affecting online advertising.
Publication
Unannounced inspections by competition authorities, usually called “dawn raids”, are undoubtably one of the most efficient tools for collecting evidence and enforcing competition rules. They are also an area where investigators test (and sometimes exceed) the boundaries of companies’ procedural rights.
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