Guide to Employee Non-Compete Agreements in EMEA

The guide sets out the key considerations to take into account when drafting, updating and enforcing noncompete agreements and restrictive covenants in different jurisdictions in EMEA. The guide covers 28 countries across EMEA. The Polish chapter was prepared by Magdalena Skwara form our Labour Law Practice.

Business practices are changing. Markets are becoming more global and employees are on the move around the world. Employees are key assets driving sales, productivity and profit over different markets. It is therefore vital that your non-compete agreements keep up with these changes to protect your business.

This is a challenge when the legal framework in each country is different and is also changing.

The following is an easy reference guide to employee non-compete agreements across borders. It sets out the key considerations to take into account when drafting, updating and enforcing noncompete agreements and restrictive covenants in different jurisdictions in Europe, Africa and the Middle East.

It is critical that HR professionals, in-house legal and commercial managers of expatriate staff have an international perspective and take an international approach to business protection. As this guide shows, the placement of employees in certain countries has a huge impact on the validity and enforceability of non-compete provisions and restrictions they may be signed up to in another country. In many cases, a foreign non-compete agreement may not be worth the paper it is written on.

Full content of the article is available in attached PDF.

Source: Meritas European Labour & Employment Group, November 2017