Employee's Agreement Validity now made Redundant

I am being made redundant from a software company and signed an agreement, when I started the job as follows:

That if the Employee's employment with the company terminates for any reason whatsoever the Employee agrees that for a period of 12 months following the date of termination:

a) Not to be employed by or carry out work for any client of the company (that is a client of the company during the term of the Employee's employment or association with the company) or potential client of the company (that is a third party with whom the company has made written or oral sales contact during the term of the Employee's employment or association with the company).

b) Not to work on an application or system directly related to projects carried out by the company during the Employee's employment or association with the company.

This employee's agreement shall be governed by the laws of England and represents the entire agreement between parties regarding the subject matter hereof.

Is this still legally binding?

Thanks.

Hi

That's not a question that can be answered with a simple yes or no, I'm afraid.

If this went to court, the judge would weigh up the company's right to protect its interests against your right to be able to earn a living. So, these clauses would be considered on the basis of how reasonable they are in relation to what sort of difficulty they would present you in finding another job.

If it would be relatively easy for you to find work without having to breach these clauses, it is more likely that the company would succeed if they tried to enforce them.

One thing you should consider is that the company would need to try to obtain an injunction against you and/or your new employer if you were acting in breach. That is costly (we are normally looking at a few thousand pounds at least) and by no means certain (because of the scrutiny they will be put under by the court).

If you are thinking of breaching them I recommend you raise them with your new employer and see if they will get their lawyers on the case.

Pete