In this article, Andrew Bowen QC considers restrictive covenants in the case of Tillman v Egon Zehnder Ltd [2019] 2 B.C.L.C. 143

In this case a former employee argued that a non-competition clause in her contract was void as a part of it that prohibited her from holding shares in a competing business was an unreasonable restraint of trade.  The employer responded by challenging whether that part was covered by the doctrine and if it was, whether it was an unreasonable restraint that could be severed from the clause. The principal interest in the Supreme Court’s decision was on the severability issue.

This article was first published in Greens Business Law Bulletin, Issue 163 (published December 2019) and on Westlaw. It is reproduced here with the kind permission of Thomson Reuters.