In Norway we added a law now from 2017 that the employer have to pay you the same salary for the period the non-compete is in operation. Maximum 1 year. It have you be in you contract up front, and they have to explicitly list customers and competitors.
Noncompete Clauses: Signing Away the Right to Get a New Job
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Re: Noncompete Clauses: Signing Away the Right to Get a New Job
#162If you're going to violate a noncompete, don't tell anyone you're going to work for a competitor. Keep yourself as small of a target as possible for your former competitor's legal team. - When you quit, tell your now former employer that you're quitting to pursue something other than what was your established industry. Your (made up) lifelong dream of starting your own microbrew brand, Macrome supply business, winery…
Ok, so you don't have to go this far.
The only thing you have to do, is when people ask you where you work, just say "I'm under NDA. Can't talk about it.".
Or keep it vague. "I am a web developer". Something like that.
No need to get rid of your friends, or hide, or anything like that.
Just simply don't talk about work, and I can assure you that nobody is going to come after you.
Re: Noncompete Clauses: Signing Away the Right to Get a New Job
#163Earlier quoted context omitted.
I've never been presented with one (and hope I never will) so this is hypothetical, but I have a hard time imagining even doing that. A company is paying me to work for them, they're not paying to own me. When I'm off the clock, my time is my own, up to and including doing paid work for anyone else I want. I'd make an exception if they increased my pay accordingly. But considering that they're asking for 4.2x more of…
Frankly I find working for a direct competitor in your off hours to be highly unethical and have no issues with employers trying to ban it in the contract. You're no more entitled to do whatever you want than you are to be employed. It's fair for you to want to work for direct competitors, and it's also fair for employers not to hire you if this is your demand.
What's wrong with it exactly? If I hired a flooring company to lay down some hardwood, I'm not going to tell them "now, don't go doing flooring for my competition for the duration of this job." What's the difference?
You're right that it's fair for employers not to hire me if this is my demand. I never meant to imply otherwise. Employers can require all sorts of terrible things. Our recourse is mostly to either negotiate or put up with it.
Re: Noncompete Clauses: Signing Away the Right to Get a New Job
#164Earlier quoted context omitted.
I've never been presented with one (and hope I never will) so this is hypothetical, but I have a hard time imagining even doing that. A company is paying me to work for them, they're not paying to own me. When I'm off the clock, my time is my own, up to and including doing paid work for anyone else I want. I'd make an exception if they increased my pay accordingly. But considering that they're asking for 4.2x more of…
Frankly I find working for a direct competitor in your off hours to be highly unethical and have no issues with employers trying to ban it in the contract. You're no more entitled to do whatever you want than you are to be employed. It's fair for you to want to work for direct competitors, and it's also fair for employers not to hire you if this is your demand.
Maybe the moral issue is beside the point? Why sign something that restricts you and potentially opens you to a suit if you can get it removed?
Re: Noncompete Clauses: Signing Away the Right to Get a New Job
#165Interested to see how this plays in my jurisdiction. Seems they have quite a sane approach in NSW:
Re: Noncompete Clauses: Signing Away the Right to Get a New Job
#166It's important for software developers and in demand job applicants to push the trends. I refused the noncompete clause at my startup (still got job) and made a point of how I'm principled against them
for hurting people like the man in this article. We may be disconnected from the rest of America but maybe my little requirement can put the thought in people's heads that it's wrong.
Re: Noncompete Clauses: Signing Away the Right to Get a New Job
#167I've been sued twice over non compete language. The good news is they are reasonably hard to enforce because most judges will ultimately agree that people have a right to change employers. The bad news is it can cost a lot of money to get to the point where the judge says that.
So you signed a second non-compete after being burned once?
Re: Noncompete Clauses: Signing Away the Right to Get a New Job
#168Worth remembering, especially for those just entering the software field: by the time a potential employer gives you an employment agreement to sign, they've already decided they want you. At that point, it's on them to give you a palatable offer. They may include a noncompete clause for one of two reasons: 1) to prevent you from working somewhere else at the same time, which can create all sorts of conflicts of inte…
I've never been presented with one (and hope I never will) so this is hypothetical, but I have a hard time imagining even doing that. A company is paying me to work for them, they're not paying to own me. When I'm off the clock, my time is my own, up to and including doing paid work for anyone else I want. I'd make an exception if they increased my pay accordingly. But considering that they're asking for 4.2x more of…
That's sophistry. Being full time employed means just that. Obviously you have free time and that's great, but that's time to do not-work, not other work, and that's obvious and reasonable to the vast majority of employees, and it makes a lot of sense that prohibiting it is the default.
The fact that we work in a field where your hobby might quite often be productive work to the extent that it could compete with your day job is an extreme privilege and is to be treated as such.
That said, these things are often malleable, and that's a good thing to be aware of, but grandstanding on "4.2x salary" just makes you look entitled.
Re: Noncompete Clauses: Signing Away the Right to Get a New Job
#169Earlier quoted context omitted.
I've never been presented with one (and hope I never will) so this is hypothetical, but I have a hard time imagining even doing that. A company is paying me to work for them, they're not paying to own me. When I'm off the clock, my time is my own, up to and including doing paid work for anyone else I want. I'd make an exception if they increased my pay accordingly. But considering that they're asking for 4.2x more of…
Frankly I find working for a direct competitor in your off hours to be highly unethical and have no issues with employers trying to ban it in the contract. You're no more entitled to do whatever you want than you are to be employed. It's fair for you to want to work for direct competitors, and it's also fair for employers not to hire you if this is your demand.
I think the problem is that "competitor" may be very loosely defined.
Re: Noncompete Clauses: Signing Away the Right to Get a New Job
#170If you're going to violate a noncompete, don't tell anyone you're going to work for a competitor. Keep yourself as small of a target as possible for your former competitor's legal team. - When you quit, tell your now former employer that you're quitting to pursue something other than what was your established industry. Your (made up) lifelong dream of starting your own microbrew brand, Macrome supply business, winery…
I'm not sure if you're being serious or not.