Restraint of Trade Investigations

A restraint of trade is an agreement between an individual and a business or company whereby an individual is restricted in his or her freedom to carry on his/her trade, profession, business or other economic activity after leaving said business or company. A contract in restraint of trade is one that prevents an employee from exercising his or her trade, profession or calling, or engaging in the same business as the employer, for a specified period, and within a specified area after leaving employment for the exact purpose of protecting the company's intellectual property rights to information and products the individual previously worked with at said company.

The objective behind a restraint of trade is to protect the employer’s goodwill, customer connections and trade secrets. This protection remains effective for a specified period, which must be reasonable.

Restraint of trade clauses are often used in employment contracts to prevent or limit an employee from engaging in conduct that is adverse or inconsistent with the employer’s interests once employment has ended. Typically, employees are restrained from soliciting clients or establishing competing businesses.

At NiB (National Investigations Bureau) we are well versed in cases involving restraint of trade transgressions and with an average success rate of 95% within the first 3 days of an investigation our track record speaks for itself.