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Non-Compete & Restrictive Covenant Enforceability Checker 2025

Non-compete clauses — also called restrictive covenants — are only enforceable if they protect a legitimate business interest and go no further than reasonably necessary. Answer these questions to assess whether your restriction is likely to hold up in court.

Your Restriction

Enforceability Assessment

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Non-Compete Clauses — Enforceability and Your Rights

A non-compete clause prohibits an employee from working for a competitor or starting a competing business after leaving. These clauses are automatically void unless the employer can demonstrate they protect a legitimate proprietary interest and are no wider than reasonably necessary. Courts approach them with scepticism and construe them narrowly.

What Makes a Non-Compete Enforceable?

  • Legitimate business interest: Trade secrets, confidential information, or customer relationships genuinely needing protection
  • Reasonable duration: Typically 3–12 months; longer periods need strong justification
  • Reasonable geographic scope: Cannot cover areas where the employer has no real business presence
  • Reasonable activity scope: Cannot prevent working in an entire field — only genuinely competing activities

Government's Proposed 3-Month Cap

In December 2023, the government published proposals to limit non-competes to a maximum of three months. As of 2025 these have not been enacted into law, but they signal policy direction and may influence how courts assess longer restrictions. Many employment law specialists now advise drafting new non-competes within three months to ensure enforceability if the proposals become law.

Types of Post-Termination Restrictions

  • Non-compete: Prohibits working for a competitor entirely — hardest to enforce
  • Non-solicitation: Prevents approaching former clients — generally easier to justify
  • Non-dealing: Prevents any business with former clients even if they approach you — courts scrutinise closely
  • Non-poaching: Prevents recruiting former colleagues

Even if a non-compete is unenforceable, non-solicitation and non-dealing clauses may remain independently enforceable. Always review all restrictive covenants together, not just the headline non-compete.

Garden Leave and Its Effect on Enforceability

Courts take prior garden leave into account when assessing whether a post-termination non-compete is reasonable in duration. Six months of garden leave followed by a six-month non-compete may be harder to justify than six months non-compete with no garden leave — the client relationships have already naturally diminished. The combined effect of garden leave plus post-termination restrictions is assessed as a whole.

The Blue Pencil Rule — Partial Enforcement

Courts can enforce a reduced version of an overly broad restriction by deleting words — but cannot rewrite or modify it. If a non-compete covers 10 countries but only 3 are legitimate, the court might strike out the 7 and enforce the remaining 3. Courts will not substitute a shorter duration for an unreasonably long one — the entire duration clause fails if unreasonable. A badly drafted clause may be entirely unenforceable while a well-drafted slightly shorter one would have been fully enforceable.

When Your Employer Cannot Enforce a Non-Compete

An employer who repudiates a contract — for example through constructive dismissal or wrongful termination — may lose the right to enforce restrictive covenants. The principle is that post-termination restrictions are only enforceable if the employer complied with their own contractual obligations. If your dismissal was wrongful (breach of notice entitlement or contractual terms), you have a strong argument that any non-compete is unenforceable.

Injunctions — How Employers Enforce Non-Competes

Employers who wish to enforce a non-compete quickly apply to the High Court for an interim injunction, often on an urgent basis. The court applies the American Cyanamid test: is there a serious issue to be tried? If yes, the balance of convenience determines the outcome. Interim injunctions can be obtained within days, potentially preventing you from starting a new role. If your employer is threatening enforcement, seek specialist employment law advice immediately before making any career moves.

The most effective protection for employees facing an overly broad non-compete is to seek an early written agreement from the former employer that they do not intend to enforce the restriction, or to obtain a specialist employment law opinion that clearly sets out why the clause is unenforceable — giving a new employer confidence to proceed with the hire despite the restriction being on paper.

Frequently Asked Questions

Can I simply ignore a non-compete clause?+
Ignoring a non-compete is extremely risky if it is properly drafted and proportionate. Your employer could obtain an injunction preventing you from working for the new employer, claim damages for any loss suffered, and require the new employer to pay damages if they knowingly induced the breach. Always take legal advice before breaching a restriction, even one you believe is unenforceable. The potential costs of getting it wrong far exceed the cost of an hour's legal advice.
Does a non-compete apply if I was made redundant?+
Generally yes — redundancy does not automatically invalidate post-termination restrictions, provided the restriction was in the original contract and the employer did not breach the contract in making the redundancy. However, if the employer failed to comply with proper redundancy procedures and this amounts to a breach of contract, you may have an argument that the restrictions are unenforceable. Seek legal advice if made redundant and subject to restrictive covenants.
My new employer wants to start before my non-compete expires — what are the risks?+
The risks are significant. An injunction could prevent you from working for the new employer — damaging the relationship before it begins. The new employer could also be named as a defendant if they induced the breach. Some new employers offer indemnities against legal costs, but these do not eliminate reputational damage or the stress of proceedings. Have the non-compete reviewed by an employment solicitor before starting any role that might breach it.
How long does an employer have to enforce a non-compete?+
Employers must act quickly. An interim injunction application made months after you started a competing role will face a strong argument that the employer has delayed too long (acquiescence). In practice, employers who intend to enforce a non-compete typically take action within weeks of discovering the breach. If your former employer has not taken action within three to four weeks of knowing about the breach, the risk of enforcement typically reduces — though this is not a guarantee.
Does resigning rather than being dismissed affect my non-compete?+
Resigning does not void a non-compete clause. The restriction applies on termination of the employment contract regardless of who terminated it — unless your employer committed a repudiatory breach of contract (such as constructive dismissal), in which case you may have grounds to argue the restrictions are unenforceable. Voluntarily resigning does not give you any special right to break a post-termination restriction that would otherwise be enforceable.