Whether there will be a “Great Resignation” in Australia has been fiercely debated for weeks. But whatever the different viewpoints, stabilisation, recovery, and growth in 2022 will be critical for most businesses. Timing is everything – the need for growth coincides with widespread fatigue and burnout among the workforce, ongoing uncertainty associated with the new

An enforceable restraint of trade can be a key business asset. Some might think about it as an insurance policy. The capacity to preserve customer connections, protect confidential information and discourage key executives from setting up their own business or moving to a competitor can be critical to information rich businesses operating in a competitive

Drafting and enforcing post-employment restraints has a lot in common with good medicine.

It is necessary to prescribe only the “minimum effective dose” – the amount necessary to produce the desired outcome with minimum side effects. Draft a post-employment restraint too narrowly, and it provides no remedy. Draft a restraint too broadly, and toxicity sets in – it won’t be enforceable.
Continue Reading Prescribing the “minimum effective dose”

So, your star employee has resigned. What happens next can be crucial for your brand.

The way a business responds to the resignation of a star employee is a touchstone of successful HR leadership. Employees, competitors, customers, and other key stakeholders (as well as your falling star) will be all eyes and ears about how you (HR) and senior management react to the news. HR 101 teaches us that recognising an employee’s decision to move on is part and parcel of business reality – but is there merit in leveraging the process further?
Continue Reading Breaking up is hard to do

When a key employee subject to an employment restraint leaves a business to join a competitor, fast decisions need to be made to protect client goodwill or guard against misuse of confidential information.

The more leverage an employer has against the former employee and his or her new employer, the better the prospects of negotiating a sensible solution quickly or, failing that, taking successful legal action.
Continue Reading Leveraging employment restraints to protect business assets

An enforceable restraint of trade can be a key business asset. Or some might think about it as an insurance policy. The capacity to preserve customer connections, protect confidential information and discourage key executives from setting up their own business or moving to a competitor can be critical to information rich businesses operating in a competitive market.  As we pointed out in our second blog piece on post-employment protections, ensuring the currency of your restraint provisions is an important exercise in risk management. 
Continue Reading The difference between winning and losing restraint litigation is often good housekeeping

Following on from our first blog on post-employment protections, we will now look at the different types of restraint, and work through a checklist of questions employers should ask themselves when drafting a restraint to make sure it’s the right fit.
Continue Reading Drafting and litigating post-employment restraints – Tailoring your restraint to ensure the right fit