What’s happened?
A director or senior manager resigns. Shortly afterwards, customers start moving their business, staff start handing in their notice and you suspect someone has walked off with your client list or pricing.
Why should you care?
- Customers, pricing, know-how and people are often the most valuable things a business owns, and they can be lost very quickly.
- Restrictive covenants (non-compete, non-solicitation and non-dealing clauses) can help, but only if they protect a legitimate business interest and go no further than is reasonably necessary. Some are drafted too widely to be enforced.
- Confidential information can be protected even without a covenant, but you need to be able to show what was taken and why it matters.
- If you need the court to step in with an injunction, it will expect you to have acted promptly. Delay can weaken your position.
What can you do about it?
- Secure your systems: suspend access, preserve emails and devices, and check for downloads or forwarded files.
- Pull out the contract, service agreement and any handbook policies they signed.
- Write down what you know, with dates: who has moved, who has been contacted and what you believe was taken.
- Get advice quickly, before deciding whether to send a warning letter or apply for an injunction.
The bottom line
Speed matters. The businesses that protect themselves best are the ones that act in days, not months.
This article is general information, not legal advice. Every situation is different, so please speak to us about yours.