Can I be prohibited from working for 6 months of leaving my job?

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Daniel B	Once you have left employment you are no longer under that contract, so I doubt it. Was this answer helpful to you? Yes / No

Jo H	only if they continue to pay you for that time I guess. Isn't that what garden leave is? Was this answer helpful to you? Yes / No

Earthangel	As I understand it - he cannot stop you from working for any other company but he can stop you from approaching his customers/suppliers and trying to persuade them to move to your new company. Was this answer helpful to you? Yes / No

GeeCee	If you signed a contract stating that then I feel he is well within employment rights...........as for his morals, then , that's a different story. Was this answer helpful to you? Yes / No

Jellybean	Not sure, you could try the citizens advice bureau they will give you free advice. Was this answer helpful to you? Yes / No

mrsdeli	Yes, it's legal...but....they can't stop you from finding employment. If there are no jobs available outside of that 30 mile radius you can go to court and have that stipulation voided from the contract. Contact an attorney for advise on how to proceed. Was this answer helpful to you? Yes / No

nightcrawler	It is legal to say it but, depending on the circumstances, it may not be enforceable in its entirety. It would need to satisfy the test of 'reasonableness' in the circumstances. Is the 6 months reasonable? Is the geographical scope reasonable? Does it prevent ALL employment in the industry or just similar employment? If it prevents you exercising your trade, does that have other implications about your ability to get back into your profession? Is the restriction actually necessary or is it, in effect, just a way of reducing your professional mobility. This type of restriction can be perfectly reasonable and enforceable at law. If it is not reasonable, it is best not to agree to it in the first place if possible. Since the unreasonableness may only become apparent when circumstances change, it is always worth taking legal advice from an employment lawyer should you feel the restriction is unfair. Was this answer helpful to you? Yes / No

KJ	This sort of term is normally included in sales/service industries in order to stop staff taking customers with them when they leave. I would suggest contacting ACAS on 08457 47 47 47 for their advice, as it is a term of a contract which you've agreed to so your employer could take action against you. However, as you state that the main companies within your industry are all within a 30 mile radius it could be seen that it is an unfair term and therefore not enforceable. Best to get advice from the experts. Was this answer helpful to you? Yes / No

liberal_60	It depends on the law of the particular state you are working in. You will need to talk to a lawyer. Was this answer helpful to you? Yes / No

John H	totally legal!!! He could sue you if you left the company to pursue a career with one of his competitors. On the otherhand, if he was to let you go - redundancy etc, I doubt any court in the land would look seriously at any legal action against you for breach of contract . Was this answer helpful to you? Yes / No

Judy	Noncompete agreements have often been upheld as legal, but not always. Was this answer helpful to you? Yes / No

Guardian angel	If you took the job under those terms then he may well have a case.Phone ACAS and see what they think. Was this answer helpful to you? Yes / No

perfectvelvet	Yes, it is legal. My sister works for an advertising agency with more strict language than yours -- and a longer period of time to boot. However, you are not prohibited from finding work in a different field. So if you want to work in the same industry, take up a temp job for six months then move on. Was this answer helpful to you? Yes / No

Dan	Check the verbiage of the contract carefully. Often times, a non-compete simply states (in lay-mans terms) that you can do a similar job with your former employers competitors, not that you can't work for them. If the agreement states that you can't work for a competitor at all, well then you signed a bad non-compete as it severly hinders your job prospects (particularly if you have specialized training/education). Non-competes are done so you don't give away past employers "secrets" or industry knowledge. Was this answer helpful to you? Yes / No

Mel	It depends on where you are located. In some states/countries non-compete contracts are enforceable. In most palces in the US, they are not. The exception is if you have access to proprietary/trade secret information in your current job (pricing, customer lists, etc.) In that instance, it would be legal to prohibit you from sharing that info with a competitor - usually up to 12 months post-termination is the enforceable limit before the court presumes that info is too old to be useful. Was this answer helpful to you? Yes / No

Ryans Nanna	I think you will find this is legal if it is in a written contract. Was this answer helpful to you? Yes / No

Matthew Stewart	Yes, this is legal. It is called a "Non-compete Clause". This prevent you from getting training in your field at his expense, then jumping to another company. In other words, he spent the money training you, he should be the one to reap the beneifits of your training. He does not want to spend his money to train people for other companies. I work in a field where it is very common to get trained at the expense of one compnay, but then jump ship and go to a competitor as soon as training is complete. This is unfair to the company doing the training, as training can be very expensive. This is legal and very common in specialized fields. If you break the contarct, he has the right to sue you for the cost of any training he has provided PLUS the judge can order you to obey the six month wiating period before starting work for the competitor. Was this answer helpful to you? Yes / No

Duke75	If it is in your contract, yes. Was this answer helpful to you? Yes / No