Private Company (aaa) 14 February 2017

Employee join client company

Hi,

We are Private Limited Company and having team of 5 people.

Recently 2 of our employees has been left without notice period and after 1 month I found that they are working with my client.

In their offer letter we have made very clear cluase that any employee can not work with our client for next 3 month.

Below is clause

"Officer shall not join any customers company whom he had been deployed or worked with for at 3 month after leaving company."

Also we have agreeement with client that they can not hire our any employee for next 3 year.

Now employee left I have loose revenue.

What should I needed to do to prevent happening in this future and what action should taken against them.

Thanks,

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6 Replies

Kumar Doab (FIN) 14 February 2017

The Indian Courts of law have consistently been declining to enforce Non Compete Clauses/agreements as it hits right to earn liveihood and provisions of Indian Contract Act.

Resignation can be without notice or permission.

Kumar Doab (FIN) 14 February 2017

Fill the vacancy and install replacement.

Dr. Atul [9013898936] (Lawyer, Scholar) 14 February 2017

^ Right; nothing will come out of a non-compete or a non-solicit - agreements in restraint of trade. An employer may get a little something of restraint on use of trade secret or intelletual property but going from your post, I doubt that is your case.

Ritesh Maity (Labour Law Advocate) 14 February 2017

As already mentioned there is no law to bind employees. They are free to join any company, even your competitor on the very next day. However, you can ask them to serve notice period or ask them to deposit notice pay. If they employees do not pay notice pay, then you may initiate a suit and recover the notice. But still you cannot stop an employee from joining any other company.

The applicability of the agreement between yourself and the client can only be decided after going the the detailed contents of it.

Kumar Doab (FIN) 14 February 2017

The agreement that you have signed with client say: Anti Poaching Agreement, has NO bearing on rights of employee i.e your past employee and your client's current employee.

Kumar Doab (FIN) 15 February 2017

Notice period/pay is part of service conditions that are governed by various enactments applicable to establishment/employer/employee and these shall prevail upon any private agreement that employer has drafted and signed with employee......................e.g; appointment letter, contract of employment, HR policy, Service Rules, employee handbook etc etc etc.........

If the applicable enactments provide for application of notice period/pay then ONLY employer can press for it.

The designation alone (as in appointment letter, corrigendum, subsequent communications etc etc ) does not, cannot, shall not decide………….. employee shall be covered by the umbrella of Labor Laws and such enactments or NOT.

Adding Officer to designation of employee does not, cannot, shall not bring the employee out of purview of the umbrella of Labor Laws and such enactments.

It being matter of Fact and Law.