4 ms·

Also, if you have a non-compete on the employment agreement. Do the right thing and nullify that agreement. If they go to your competitor, you have no one to bl

by monksy 11y ago

Also, if you have a non-compete on the employment agreement. Do the right thing and nullify that agreement. If they go to your competitor, you have no one to blame but yourself. A non-compete does nothing from sharing secrets. Confidentiality agreement prevents that. (That is advice from a lawyer) I'm not sure if I agree with you on the saying the good byes. Linkedin is a bit better than that. The worst thing you can do is send them back to their desk to backup and make the announcement while they're packing.

balls187 11y ago
> Also, if you have a non-compete on the employment agreement. Do the right thing and nullify that agreement. They OP may not have the ability to nullify employment agreements. They may have the ability to not enforce them post layoff.
- monksy 11y ago
  > They may have the ability to not enforce them post layoff. That means nothing to the person being laid off. By not removing that restriction you're still putting the threat on the individual.
  - balls187 11y ago
    > That means nothing to the person being laid off. By not removing that restriction you're still putting the threat on the individual. No one forced them to sign the employment agreement in the first place. 2nd, it's protection for the company. Outside of backdoor collusion between large silicon valley companies, and key hires, how often do you see non compete agreements enforced? For your rank and file, rarely ever. Companies don't have infinite resources to sink into litigation, especially if they have to have layoffs to reduce costs.
    - monksy 11y ago
      You won't see them enforced. Because they're enforced by an express court that stops the current employer from working with you. TLDR Talk to a lawyer. They know their shit.
justonepost 11y ago
That's a good one! However, I'd like to say if there is a very good severance paid (golden parachute) than a non compete is OK in my eyes. If you can't afford a great severance, than by all means, make life as easy as possible for your employees and remove anything that can block them getting rehired. These are real things you can do instead of just saying "oh sorry, I'm laying you off, I feel so bad, yada yada yada"..
ansible 11y ago
I'd be surprised if a non-compete was enforceable in a layoff situation. It is another thing if they quit on their own, or maybe if they were fired for cause.
- monksy 11y ago
  Talk with a lawyer. However, if you're not in CA or a place where non-competes aren't valid: They can be enforced. It's shitty, but that's business.
  - jsprogrammer 11y ago
    In a situation like this though, it can probably be thrown out for lack of consideration. You'd also probably have a decent suit for damages as well: if a company hires you with a non-compete and then dumps you on the street because it can no longer meet it's contractual obligations to you, but still prevents you from earning a wage through an onerous contract (which they unilaterally terminated) causing real damages to your lifetime earnings.
    - monksy 11y ago
      You'd think. A lawyer will tell you this: "I'm not a magician. You signed the contract."
- tripzilch 11y ago
  Well if the OP has to do lay-offs, they probably are going to get legal advice. If Legal tells them the non-compete becomes invalid in cases of lay-offs, then at the very least it's nice to inform the laid-off person about this. If it doesn't automatically become so, follow the previous poster's advice and if possible, nullify it.
jsprogrammer 11y ago
Non-competes are generally null and void as soon as they go into the contract and could even imperil the entire document.
- OopsCriticality 11y ago
  Respectfully, while this is true in some areas, it is absolutely not true across the US that they are null and void, nor is it necessarily true that the inclusion of a non-compete will have a bearing on severability.

by monksy 11y ago

balls187 11y ago

> Also, if you have a non-compete on the employment agreement. Do the right thing and nullify that agreement. They OP may not have the ability to nullify employment agreements. They may have the ability to not enforce them post layoff.

monksy 11y ago
> They may have the ability to not enforce them post layoff. That means nothing to the person being laid off. By not removing that restriction you're still putting the threat on the individual.
- balls187 11y ago
  > That means nothing to the person being laid off. By not removing that restriction you're still putting the threat on the individual. No one forced them to sign the employment agreement in the first place. 2nd, it's protection for the company. Outside of backdoor collusion between large silicon valley companies, and key hires, how often do you see non compete agreements enforced? For your rank and file, rarely ever. Companies don't have infinite resources to sink into litigation, especially if they have to have layoffs to reduce costs.
  - monksy 11y ago
    You won't see them enforced. Because they're enforced by an express court that stops the current employer from working with you. TLDR Talk to a lawyer. They know their shit.

justonepost 11y ago

That's a good one! However, I'd like to say if there is a very good severance paid (golden parachute) than a non compete is OK in my eyes. If you can't afford a great severance, than by all means, make life as easy as possible for your employees and remove anything that can block them getting rehired. These are real things you can do instead of just saying "oh sorry, I'm laying you off, I feel so bad, yada yada yada"..

ansible 11y ago

I'd be surprised if a non-compete was enforceable in a layoff situation. It is another thing if they quit on their own, or maybe if they were fired for cause.

monksy 11y ago
Talk with a lawyer. However, if you're not in CA or a place where non-competes aren't valid: They can be enforced. It's shitty, but that's business.
- jsprogrammer 11y ago
  In a situation like this though, it can probably be thrown out for lack of consideration. You'd also probably have a decent suit for damages as well: if a company hires you with a non-compete and then dumps you on the street because it can no longer meet it's contractual obligations to you, but still prevents you from earning a wage through an onerous contract (which they unilaterally terminated) causing real damages to your lifetime earnings.
  - monksy 11y ago
    You'd think. A lawyer will tell you this: "I'm not a magician. You signed the contract."
tripzilch 11y ago
Well if the OP has to do lay-offs, they probably are going to get legal advice. If Legal tells them the non-compete becomes invalid in cases of lay-offs, then at the very least it's nice to inform the laid-off person about this. If it doesn't automatically become so, follow the previous poster's advice and if possible, nullify it.

jsprogrammer 11y ago

Non-competes are generally null and void as soon as they go into the contract and could even imperil the entire document.

OopsCriticality 11y ago
Respectfully, while this is true in some areas, it is absolutely not true across the US that they are null and void, nor is it necessarily true that the inclusion of a non-compete will have a bearing on severability.