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Contract issues

My bf just got a job and after having to ask for his contract (he never got asked to sign one??) There are ridiculous terms like if I as his girlfriend get a job with a competitor, he can get fired! (IT industry so what like even tesco they sell computer mice.. what's the limit?) The whole 10 page contract is full of stuff like this.. Will speak to ACAS and Citizens advice and trade union.. Has anyone heard of that sortof thing being in a contract with regards to what their partner does? Sorry if not suitable to be posted here but thought you guys might know!

Reply 1

threeportdrift

Careers Forum Helper

Original post by Janey142

..........

Yup, it's becoming more and more common to include householders in contracts. Even the government do it - see the new regulations on working in a school and living in a household with someone with a conviction for a number of crimes.

The company, if it's any decent sized organisation will already have checked the legality of what it has put in its contract, and anti-competition clauses like this are normal. There's probably one blocking your boyfriend moving to a competitor within 12 months as well.

He can try kicking up a stink, but he'd do better looking for another job if he doesn't want to sign.

Reply 2

Janey142

Original post by threeportdrift

Probably going to look for another job to be honest. It says 2 years from leaving the company he can't work for a competitor, within a 15 mile radius. It isn't a huge company, they have 5 shops and he had to nag them to get his contract, they never asked to see his immigration documents and when they gave him his contract, they gave one out to everyone.. there were people who had been there 6 years and had never seen or signed one! Also didn't have his job title or a description of duties on it.. just said if someone else is off he is required to do their job as well as his own.

Reply 3

threeportdrift

Careers Forum Helper

Original post by Janey142

..................

I guess your b/f hasn't dealt with many contracts. There's nothing there that sounds particularly weird. Contracts don't have to be written, they can be implied and all the core protections are in place in law anyway. The company has clearly decided that it wants to protect its products/corporate knowledge more strongly and so has issued contracts or more likely new contracts to all employees.

2 years is quite a long time, but conversely a 15 mile radius is hardly worth putting in! I suspect they have taken legal advice and are really just worried about one particular local competitor. He could ask the company to name the competitors, so he is clear on who he can't go and work for.

I wouldn't necessarily expect my contract to have my job title on it, and I certainly wouldn't expect it to have a description of my duties on it, it's a contract, not the job description.

The requirement to do other people's work if they are off (or words to that effect) and 'any other work of an appropriate nature as directed by management' (or words to that effect) are entirely standard in any reasonably formed contract.

Reply 4

Janey142

Original post by threeportdrift

He has had several contracts and none with these in. I wasn't suggesting being asked to do other people's work was strange, I was just saying that it was all that was said regarding his work. Every contract I have ever come across has job title at the very least, which should very much be agreed upon. Looking at Accas guidelines, these should be included, and I also read you should be wary of signing contracts that limit where you can work.. definatley want a list of who they consider to be competitors! Yes I know contracts can be verbal, but you have the right to request one and must get it within 2 months (they weren't going to) or they can be fined. Like I said, they sent out contracts to everyone because my bf had to nag to get one and there are people who were working there for years who didn't know they were working under this contract. One person just went for an interview with a competitor and it makes sense now as to why the boss was asking my bf if he knew where said person had an interview with.. No one had verbally agreed to any of these things and didn't know they were terms.

Reply 5

username1799249

It is a bit old now and more applicable to the USA, but have a read of this excellent blog that talks about NDAs and similar

http://www.joelonsoftware.com/articles/fog0000000071.html

If his employer will not relent on some of the terms, there is plenty of work out there. Go elsewhere. Contracts like this are anti-competitive and will ultimately trip up the company involved because they are so hard to enforce. For example, what is the legal definition of a girlfriend? I mean, you are his lodger right? :wink:

Reply 6

username1799249

Original post by Janey142

One person just went for an interview with a competitor and it makes sense now as to why the boss was asking my bf if he knew where said person had an interview with.. No one had verbally agreed to any of these things and didn't know they were terms.

Didn't read this until now. The boss is panicking. And it sounds like he is going about tying everyone into his company in a way that is rather dodgy. It is very difficult to prevent people working for the opposition. Such freedom is the very basis of a free market. But even if you were working for a competitor, your boyfriend is under no obligation to tell your company who you work for, especially if he might implicate himself. Neither does he need to disclose who he might work for in the future.

The irony of these sort of one-size-fits-all contracts, is that should this company fold, the boss has legally prevented himself working for any of his competitors too.

People will say he has taken legal advice, but my experience with lawyers is that they will tell you whatever you want to hear and then charge you handsomely. It is only if tested in the court that the quality of that advice comes to light.

Your bfs boss sounds like an a-hole. I would work elsewhere.

(edited 8 years ago)

Reply 7

sw651

Original post by Janey142

This is perfectly normal, and very common. Seem neither you or your boyfriend have experience with contractual law. If his partner works for a competitor then there is a risk of trade secrets being passed on, IT'S A SECURITY RISK!

IT industry for example is referring to a company that is primarily IT systems based, not retailers of IT equipment.

I wouldn't speak to anyone, you will be told the same thing I have just said, or laughed out of the room. It's totally normal.

Reading your other posts you seem a bit confused. I didn't get my contract until I was at my company until 3 months later. If he hasn't put pen to paper yet then he hasn't signed any contract unless he signed a virtual one.

http://www.legislation.gov.uk/ukpga/1996/18/contents

ACAS only offer GUIDELINES not LAW the above link is the law surrounding it.

(edited 8 years ago)

Reply 8

sw651

Original post by ByEeek

Your lack of legal knowledge is disturbing. If he is contractually obligated to reveal who the partner works for then he has to. I he has agreed to a verbal contract with conditions he is unsure of then that is his problem.

Reply 9

username1799249

Original post by sw651

Perhaps - but my point is, do you really want to work for an a-hole who is more concerned spending his money lawyers to prevent people leaving his company for another, compared to a boss who spends his money ensuring no one wants to leave because it is so awesome working there? There is a carrot and stick approach and as soon as it gets all impersonal and legal, you might as well go elsewhere. There are plenty of jobs in the IT sea and most don't require the disclosure of person details like partner's occupation.

Reply 10

sw651

Original post by ByEeek

Trouble is if he entered a verbal contract he is now obligated to see out his two years.

Reply 11

username1799249

Original post by sw651

Trouble is if he entered a verbal contract he is now obligated to see out his two years.

Perhaps. But what this boss doesn't know he can't act on. I had a contract with a term like this in it. You can't work for a competitor within a certain radius. But then what is the employer going to do about it? You leave and work for someone else so he can't sack you because you have already left. He could sue you, but what for? He would have to show the losses incurred as a result of your working for the competition which is rather subjective. Finally, it assumes that the employee would then have sizeable assets to pay any compensation and costs.

If this eejit were to ever take legal action, he would incur huge legal costs he would be unlikely to get back even if he won. At the same time he would be putting the willies up every other staff member currently working for his firm and probably see an exodus. In other words, he would destroy his business in one fell swoop.

As the blog post I posted above illustrates much better than I can, NDAs and tie in clauses in employment contracts are overkill in the IT business. We are all bright folks and there are lots of jobs. If you want to keep your staff happy and loyal you love them and nurture them, not tie them up in legal red tape.

Despite my being wrong technically, in practical terms, this contract isn't worth the paper its written on and is actually more harmful to him and his business in the long term than he realises.