The litigation landscape post pandemic: restrictive covenants and confidentiality

As everything goes on-line and the creation of more flexible working environments provide businesses with the opportunity to recruit people from farther afield so the risk increases of confidential information ending up in the hands of competitors and customers and staff being poached.

Always take steps to protect your business by including properly drafted restrictive covenants and confidentiality clauses in your employees’ contracts of employment.  To be enforceable, restrictions need to be reasonable and go no further than is necessary to protect legitimate business interests, such as client connection.  

Using client information brought to you by ex-employees of your business rival is likely to be a breach of confidence.  Always make enquiries about the nature of information a new employee brings to you and don’t just turn a blind eye.

Look out for employees who resign and download large amounts of data onto other devices or forward emails and documents to personal email addresses.  Or an employee who hands back their work devices having already wiped them clean.  Delay can be a factor against the court granting an interim injunction to stop unlawful behaviour, so it is best to take advice straight away in these kinds of situations.  Also be particularly suspicious in situations involving team moves.