Employment Contract prohibits any other business or employment, Is this allowed?

Hi,

My brother was offered a new job last week.....in his contract there a clause saying that he cant pursue any other business or employment while employed by the new company, except where agreed in writing......shall spend all time in service to the company...etc...

Is this allowed ? Should he sign ? For one, at the moment he delivers Pizza part time !!! Should he tell the new employers, secondly, together we had planned a modest "hobby" based business, should he tell them about it.

How might these facts affect his offer, should he just keep quiet about it ?

Thanks,

J

This is standard practice in all business employment contracts as far as I'm aware. I've signed 4 work contracts and it's been in them all.

It's to cover a situation where people may work in an area outside of their main job that's in competition or conflict with their main employer.

Best course of action is to be straight with the employer, give them the details they require, and most likely (assuming you're not in competition with them), they'll agree to it.

It's done more for them knowing about it, rather than stopping it.

As mentioned this is only there if jobs conflict ex if the new job was for four star pizza and he has a weekend job in domino's then they would conflict so to speak.......I doubt they care he delivers pizza watever weekends.
I wouldn't mention it. This was also in my contract, and I was told it was for data and info protection of the company.

It's also, partly I think, so they are aware of the number of hours you are working. Your main employer has a responsibility to ensure you are not working more than the time allowed under legislation. I think the working hours act (which came in in the late nineties?) puts some of the onus on the employer for this. Or so it was explained to me in a previous job where I also worked weekends in a shop for a few months.

In most cases such clauses are not enforceable at least in the EU. Obviously stealing customers and intellectual property etc. is one thing but a company cannot stop you earning a living even if you move to a competitive role in another company. I had concerns about such clauses in the past and that was the expert opinion that my solicitor gave on them.

Under the Organisation of Working Time Act, 1997, employers are prohibited from employing people to work during any week where the person has worked for another employer, where the total hours of the periods worked exceeds the hours allowed in the legislation. (Average 48 hours per week, some excemptions apply)

By doing so it is an offence under the Act and may leave the employer liable to prosecution.

Sorry - I misread the original question as one about non compete clauses rather than more of a working time and attention issue as suggested by the previous post. To be honest if he is delivering pizzas in the evening and it's not interfering with his main job then I don't really see what the issue is.