Can I stop my employees working for competitors?

This article was last updated 0 months ago and may not represent current law.

Losing a good employee to a competitor can do a business real damage, so employers will often turn to non-compete clauses as a way of preventing their employees from leaving and joining a competitor.

However, it’s important to note that the enforceability of restrictive covenants such as non-compete clauses in the UK can vary depending on the specific circumstances. In general, non-compete clauses are more likely to be enforceable if they are reasonable and necessary to protect the employer’s legitimate business interests.

There are also plans to change the law, although nothing has been brought in yet. The previous government announced in May 2023 that it would cap non-competes in employment contracts at three months and never did, and the current government consulted between November 2025 and February 2026 on a limit on length, a ban, or a ban below a salary threshold. No decision has been published, so for now it’s still the courts’ test of reasonableness that applies.

When I first wrote this in 2023 there was plenty in the press about Twitter (now X), its re-invention, and the employee non-compete clause in place. Twitter’s non-compete clause prohibited employees from working for a competitor for a period of six months after leaving the company.

However, Elon Musk said that he planned to relax Twitter’s non-compete clause, which would allow employees who left Twitter to work for competitors more easily. With Threads making waves at the time, that could have led to a number of implications, including:

• More employees leaving Twitter to work for competitors
• More competition in the social media industry
• A decrease in the amount of confidential information and intellectual property that Twitter is able to protect

In this article, I’ll take a look at the law on non-compete clauses, together with some of the factors that courts consider when determining whether or not to enforce these clauses. I’ll also provide some tips for drafting non-compete clauses that are more likely to be enforceable.

Employment contracts

Other useful terms to include in a contract of employment to protect your business can include:

• Garden leave clause requires the employee to stay away from work during some or all of their notice period, while they are still employed and being paid. This is helpful to help protect your business's confidential information and intellectual property.
• Confidential information and intellectual property protection should also specify what happens if the employee breaches the confidentiality agreement.
• Obligation to act in the best interests of the employer is a clause which can help to stop the employee from engaging in activities that could potentially harm your company.
• Limiting on activities outside of work prevents an employee from using confidential data or intellectual property for their own personal gain.
• Appropriate notice period should be given for termination of employment. The contract should also specify that the employer is allowed to pay the employee in lieu of notice, which brings the employment to an end straight away.

Factors courts consider when determining enforceability

These factors include:

• The length of the restriction
• The geographic scope of the restriction
• The nature of the employee's job duties
• The employer's legitimate business interests

1. Specific: Clearly define the activities that the employee is prohibited from engaging in. For example, the clause might specify that the employee is prohibited from working for a specific competitor, soliciting the employer's customers, or using the employer's trade secrets.
2. Reasonable: Terms of length, geographic scope, and types of activities should all be reasonable. For example, a clause that prohibits the employee from working in the same industry for a period of two years after termination of employment is more likely to be enforceable than a clause that prohibits the employee from working in any capacity for a period of five years.
3. Necessary: Ensure your clause is necessary to protect your business's legitimate interests. Say your business is based on confidential information, a clause would be necessary to prevent an employee from disclosing that information to a competitor.
4. Enforceable: The non-compete clause must be enforceable under the laws of England and Wales.

Non-compete clauses

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Written by Steven Mather, a business solicitor acting on company sales and purchases. This is general information about the law, not legal advice on your situation. Law correct as at 7 October 2026.