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What a UK non-compete clause does
A non-compete is a post-termination restriction intended to limit competition from a former worker. Acas describes it as a term that may prevent an employee from working for a competitor or starting a competing business. It is one form of restrictive covenant; contracts may also contain non-solicitation, non-dealing, confidentiality, garden-leave or intellectual-property provisions that affect the same move.
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The clause may be located in the employment contract, a later variation, a promotion letter, a share-plan document or another agreement incorporated into the contract. Read the documents together. Definitions of “competitor”, “business”, “customer”, “services”, “group company” and “territory” can make a short-looking restriction much broader than its headline wording suggests.
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The current legal starting point
The DBT working paper published on 26 November 2025 and updated on 19 February 2026 states: “The starting point under current law is that a non-compete clause, as with any clause in restraint of trade, is unenforceable, unless the employer can demonstrate it is reasonable, which is assessed by a court if a challenge is brought as to the clause’s enforceability.”
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That is a presumption and a legal test, not an automatic answer for either side. A signed clause is not automatically valid, and an employee cannot safely assume that every broad clause will fail. The result depends on the particular wording and circumstances. Courts consider whether the employer is protecting a legitimate interest and whether the restraint goes no further than reasonably necessary to protect it.
There is no single government-approved duration, geographic radius or job-title formula that settles every case. Treat any online “maximum number of months” rule as unreliable unless it is tied to legislation that is actually in force and applies to your situation.
Check the clause in five stages
1. Collect the complete contract
Obtain the signed contract and every document that changes or incorporates it. Include promotion letters, settlement agreements, bonus or share-plan terms, staff handbooks incorporated by reference, and any post-termination deed. Check the variation clause and governing-law clause. A restriction can be amended during employment, and the version you remember may not be the version the employer relies on.
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Mark related provisions rather than reading the non-compete in isolation:
- confidentiality and trade-secret obligations;
- non-solicitation of customers, suppliers or staff;
- non-dealing or non-servicing restrictions;
- garden-leave and payment-in-lieu provisions;
- intellectual-property and ownership terms; and
- clauses explaining severance, modification or enforcement.
Keep an unaltered copy. Do not delete business files or forward confidential material to a personal account while gathering documents.
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2. Translate the wording into precise limits
Rewrite the clause in plain language and record each limit. A useful worksheet is:
| Question | What to record |
|---|---|
| How long? | The exact period after termination, and when the clock starts. |
| Where? | Countries, regions, offices, online markets or an area defined by the employer’s activities. |
| What work? | Any employment, a particular role, specified services, management, sales, technical work or business ownership. |
| Which competitors? | Named businesses, a defined class of businesses, or any business said to compete with the employer or its group. |
| What conduct? | Working for, advising, owning, investing in, managing, setting up or assisting a competing business. |
| What trigger? | All termination, resignation, dismissal, redundancy, breach, or only specified circumstances. |
Copy the definitions that control those terms. “Competitor” might mean a narrow product line, the employer’s whole group or an industry in which the employer only has a minor presence. “Restricted role” might cover work similar to your actual duties or, more aggressively, any role with the new employer.
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Make a factual record of your position at the date you leave:
- your seniority, decision-making authority and actual responsibilities;
- the customers, suppliers, prospects or business partners with whom you had material relationships;
- information you accessed, such as pricing, strategy, product plans or confidential technical material;
- how recently and how personally you dealt with those relationships;
- the part of the employer’s market in which you actually worked; and
- the role, products, territory and customers involved in the proposed new work.
These facts do not create a pass-or-fail score. They allow a solicitor to compare the employer’s claimed legitimate interest with the restraint’s reach. A clause aimed at protecting customer connections or confidential strategy may be analysed differently from one that prevents a junior employee from working anywhere in a large industry, but only the court can decide the particular dispute.
4. Test the practical overlap with the proposed job
Ask the prospective employer for a written description of the role, reporting line, products and territory. Compare it with each restricted element. A move can create different risks depending on whether you would:
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- perform substantially the same duties for a direct competitor;
- work in a separate division or geography;
- serve a different customer group;
- move into a role with no use for the former employer’s confidential information; or
- start a business that competes only indirectly.
Do not copy customer lists, pricing files, source code, documents or messages to demonstrate what you know. Preserve evidence lawfully and keep the new employer’s information separate. A confidentiality obligation may remain important even if a non-compete is ultimately found too broad.
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GOV.UK warns that an employer could take a former employee to court for breaching a restrictive covenant. That means a clause can impose immediate practical risk even when you believe it is unreasonable. The employer might seek an injunction to restrain the new work while the dispute proceeds, or pursue damages and other remedies. The existence, availability and likely success of a remedy depend on the facts and the court’s decisions; do not promise a new employer that the clause is “unenforceable” without legal advice.
Questions a solicitor will need answered
Prepare a chronology before your appointment. Include when you joined, promotions and contract changes, access to sensitive information, key customer relationships, garden leave, the reason employment ended and the proposed start date with the new organisation. Identify whether the employer has contacted you, your new employer or customers, and preserve letters, emails and meeting notes.
Bring the exact clause, not a paraphrase. Ask the solicitor to address:
- whether the employer has identified a legitimate interest capable of protection;
- whether the duration, territory, restricted work and competitor definition are wider than necessary;
- whether another covenant, especially confidentiality or non-solicitation, creates a separate restriction;
- whether wording can be severed or a court could enforce part of the provision;
- what notice to give the former employer or prospective employer; and
- what to do if a letter before action, injunction application or court papers arrive.
Use a lawyer qualified for the jurisdiction governing the contract and the dispute. The general position summarised here is not an opinion on any individual agreement.
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Duration, territory and role: useful comparison axes
Organise the facts in a table for advice. The axes below help expose overreach, but they are not court-approved thresholds.
| Axis | Narrower wording may look like | Broader wording may look like | What still has to be assessed |
|---|---|---|---|
| Duration | A defined period linked to the time needed to protect a stated interest. | An extended period with no explanation of why protection lasts that long. | Whether the period is reasonable in the circumstances at termination. |
| Geography | The market or area in which the worker had meaningful influence. | Every country, region or online market in which the group operates. | Where the employer actually needs protection and where the worker competed. |
| Restricted work | Work materially similar to the duties that exposed the worker to the claimed risk. | Any job, consultancy, ownership or assistance for a broadly defined competitor. | Whether the prohibition goes beyond the interest identified by the employer. |
| Competitors | Specified businesses or a clearly defined competing activity. | Any present or future competitor, affiliate or business in a wide industry. | Whether the definition is certain and proportionate to the employer’s market. |
| Worker context | Senior role with direct relationships or sensitive strategic access. | Little customer contact or access to information relevant to competition. | The actual job, relationships and information, not just the job title. |
Use “not stated” where a contract or source does not specify a value; do not fill gaps with an assumed standard.
Independent reader supportYour contribution helps us test, update, and keep practical guides available for everyone.What current reform does—and does not—change
The DBT working paper was published on 26 November 2025 and updated on 19 February 2026. Its response period closed on 18 February 2026. The department described the paper as seeking views on policy options and supporting discussion rather than as a formal consultation.
Proposals discussed in a working paper are not enacted law. In particular, do not treat a proposed three-month limit as a current statutory cap unless a later official legislative source confirms that it has taken effect and applies to the contract in question. Until an enacted change is verified, apply the current reasonableness starting point and obtain advice on the relevant jurisdiction.
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Employment disputes can involve England and Wales, Scotland or Northern Ireland, and the governing-law and forum clauses may matter. The general materials considered here do not resolve every jurisdiction-specific issue. A cross-border employer, remote worker, international territory or move overseas can raise additional questions about applicable law and where an injunction could be sought.
Check the law in force when the restriction is being relied on, not only the date you signed the contract. A government policy paper, news report or commentary cannot replace the legislation and court decisions that apply to your case.
Why the Supreme Court example must be handled carefully
The Supreme Court case page for Harcus Sinclair LLP v Your Lawyers Ltd concerns a commercial agreement between law firms. It describes an appeal about an undertaking and restraint of trade, and records that the Court of Appeal discharged an injunction because the non-compete was an unreasonable restraint.
That decision provides context for restraint-of-trade doctrine, but it is not a ruling about an ordinary employee’s covenant. Do not present it as a shortcut for deciding whether an employment non-compete is enforceable. Your own clause, job and proposed activity remain decisive.
Before you resign or accept the new role
Low-risk preparation
- Obtain and preserve the complete contract and amendments.
- Ask for the proposed role and territory in writing.
- List every covenant that might apply after termination.
- Stop using or retaining the former employer’s confidential material.
- Arrange jurisdiction-appropriate legal advice before disclosing sensitive details to the new employer.
If the former employer objects
- Do not ignore a solicitor’s letter, threatened injunction or court document.
- Do not admit that the clause is valid or promise that you will breach it.
- Send the correspondence and the contract to your solicitor promptly.
- Ask whether a negotiated release, narrower undertaking, delayed start or different role would reduce risk while advice is obtained.
- Keep working and communication records that show what you actually did, without taking confidential information.
Common mistakes that weaken a worker’s position
- Relying on the signature alone: signature proves agreement to the document, not automatic enforceability of a restraint of trade.
- Using a duration myth: there is no universal period that guarantees validity or invalidity in every case.
- Reading only the heading: definitions, group-company wording and related covenants may change the effect.
- Assuming a different title solves the problem: the court can examine actual duties and competitive overlap.
- Taking files to prove what you know: that can create confidentiality, data-protection or intellectual-property problems.
- Treating a proposal as law: policy options and a working paper do not enact a statutory limit.
- Waiting for certainty: an employer may seek court relief before the final enforceability question is resolved.
A compact decision checklist
- Have you obtained the signed contract, amendments and incorporated documents?
- Can you state the duration, territory, restricted work, competitors and trigger in one page?
- What legitimate interest does the employer appear to be protecting?
- What were your actual responsibilities, relationships and information access?
- How does the proposed role overlap by product, customer, territory and duties?
- Do confidentiality, non-solicitation or non-dealing terms create separate risks?
- Which country’s law and courts govern the dispute?
- Has the employer threatened action, contacted the new employer or issued formal papers?
- Have you obtained advice before starting the competing work?
Bottom line
A UK non-compete is not enforceable simply because it appears in a signed employment contract. The current official starting point is that restraint-of-trade clauses are unenforceable unless the employer can demonstrate reasonableness, with a court deciding a challenged clause. Check the complete wording against the employer’s protectable interests and your real job and proposed move, keep confidential information out of the process, and get advice promptly when the employer threatens enforcement. Treat the 2025–2026 DBT policy discussion, including any proposed time limit, as non-enacted unless later legislation confirms otherwise.
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