If you are the owner of a business with a lot of competition in the industry, it would be beneficial for you to hire a non-compete agreement lawyer to draft a non-compete agreement for your employees to sign when you hire them. A non-compete agreement states that if an employee quits their job, they are not allowed to work for any of their former employer’s competition for a set period of time. The purpose of hiring a non-compete agreement lawyer and drafting one of these agreements is to protect your business. It prevents employees from sharing some of your company secrets with your competitors.
If you are being required to sign a non-compete agreement in order to start your new job, you should make sure you understand exactly what you are agreeing to before you sign the dotted line. Understanding the agreement before you sign it is going to save you a lot of time and headaches down the road. Naturally, it helps if you know what to look for and what questions you should be asking.
Does The Agreement Include a Garden Leave Provision?
A garden leave provision legally requires your employer to pay you your salary as well as benefits, if you are not able to find another job during the non-compete period. The reason a lot of agreements include a garden leave provision is because the agreement may prevent you from getting a job until the non-compete period is over. Not being allowed to work for competitors can make it very hard to find a job that you are qualified for and have experience in. For a lot of obvious reasons, you should avoid signing an agreement that does not include this provision.
From an employer’s point of view, it is important to make sure that your non-compete agreement is fair to both you and the employee. Most employees are going to be unwilling to sign this kind of agreement if there are not any perks to cover the fact that they are not going to be permitted to get a job in their line of work for a period of time.
