Covenant in restraint of trade

After the termination of a contract of employment an ex-employee continues to be bound to respect the confidentiality of information imparted in the course of the former employment. This obhgation may be found in an express contractual term, called a covenant in restraint of trade, or in an implied contractual obligation, called the obligation of good faith and fidelity. However, both of these obligations are subject to the qualification that a former employer can only restrain the use of confidential information... 

A variant on the covenant in restraint of trade is the newer option of garden leave plus a prolonged period of notice which must be served before the employee can leave and work for others. The aim of this combination is again to delay the employee taking up work elsewhere in the hope that by the time the employee does so, his or her knowledge of the former employer s trade secrets will be out of date. Terms to this effect must be inserted into the contract of employment. They will not be implied. 

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