Employment

The defendant purported to resign from his employment with the claimant firm. However, his resignation was within the initial period within which he was not entitled to terminate according to the terms of his employment agreement. The claimant sought a declaration that the defendant continued to be in its employment and an order that restrained him from working elsewhere in accordance with the restrictive covenant in the agreement. The Queen’s Bench Division allowed the application on the basis that the defendant remained employed until the expiry of his notice period, as modified by the claimant during the course of pre-litigation negotiations. The restrictive covenant would be enforced in modified form to reflect what was necessary protection for the claimant with regard to its clients and confidential information.