Non-Compete Clause

Hi all. I am working for a company(satellite office from an intl company) in the Philippines as a Junior (insert position here), entry level. recently, i resigned from the company to move to another country. however, they still hired me with an external contract while still waiting for a work visa, as I will be working from home/remotely. in the current and previous contract that I signed, there is this non compete clause that I shall not work to any company engaged in the same business activity or competes with the business of the company I am working for, within a period of 1 year.

moreover, I am currently looking for work here (outside philippines) and one of the companies that was keen to have me was a competitor of "Mother Company".

Having these said, the clause was not limited to a place but the time was there. is this still in effect? how can this be null and void? any help will be appreciated. thank you.

grapes wrote:Hi all. I am working for a company(satellite office from an intl company) in the Philippines as a Junior (insert position here), entry level. recently, i resigned from the company to move to another country. however, they still hired me with an external contract while still waiting for a work visa, as I will be working from home/remotely. in the current and previous contract that I signed, there is this non compete clause that I shall not work to any company engaged in the same business activity or competes with the business of the company I am working for, within a period of 1 year.

moreover, I am currently looking for work here (outside philippines) and one of the companies that was keen to have me was a competitor of "Mother Company".

Having these said, the clause was not limited to a place but the time was there. is this still in effect? how can this be null and void? any help will be appreciated. thank you.

If there is nothing illegal with the contract and NCC then it is valid anywhere and everywhere unless you are released by your previous employer.

hi again. I read a few explanations on NCC. one of which is:

(a) whether the covenant protects a legitimate business interest of the employer; (b) whether the covenant creates an undue burden on the employee; (c) whether the covenant is injurious to the public welfare; (d) whether the time and territorial limitations contained in the covenant are reasonable; and (e) whether the restraint is reasonable from the standpoint of public policy (Rivera v. Solidbank Corporation [G.R. No. 163269, 19 April 2006]).

can you please confirm if these are necessary for a non compete clause to be enforceable? Also, the non compete clause included in my contract do not contain a territorial/place limitation. will this suffice as a valid argument? thank you.

Hi. Is a non compete clause applicable kapag same industry pero sa ibang bansa base yung lilipatang company? Especially pag walang nakalagay na specific jurisdiction doon sa NCC? My NCC is one year after resignation. Thank you

Hi All,

I would like to clarify something with regards to my non compete clause. I recently applied in a company at a different area however it is stated in the non compete clause that I signed that I cannot apply to any "Direct Competitor" of my Company for about a year after my resignation. It was not clearly specified in the clause the stated competitors of the company and where are the areas that i cannot apply. The area of my current company is at Mandaluyong while the company that I applied for is at Pasay. Does the difference in area still cover the clause even if the areas were not actually stated?

striverine wrote:Hi All,

I would like to clarify something with regards to my non compete clause. I recently applied in a company at a different area however it is stated in the non compete clause that I signed that I cannot apply to any "Direct Competitor" of my Company for about a year after my resignation. It was not clearly specified in the clause the stated competitors of the company and where are the areas that i cannot apply. The area of my current company is at Mandaluyong while the company that I applied for is at Pasay. Does the difference in area still cover the clause even if the areas were not actually stated?

Area is generally not an issue - it's the product or service conflict, especially if the new company does the same thing as the old company.

What did your previous company do?
What does the new company do?

The concern also lies in that any clients of the old company might migrate to the new company because of your transfer.

council wrote:

striverine wrote:Hi All,

I would like to clarify something with regards to my non compete clause. I recently applied in a company at a different area however it is stated in the non compete clause that I signed that I cannot apply to any "Direct Competitor" of my Company for about a year after my resignation. It was not clearly specified in the clause the stated competitors of the company and where are the areas that i cannot apply. The area of my current company is at Mandaluyong while the company that I applied for is at Pasay. Does the difference in area still cover the clause even if the areas were not actually stated?

Area is generally not an issue - it's the product or service conflict, especially if the new company does the same thing as the old company.

What did your previous company do?
What does the new company do?

The concern also lies in that any clients of the old company might migrate to the new company because of your transfer.

Basically both companies are almost the same since they are under the hospitality industry. However the difference between the two is that the previous caters to both condominium and hotel guests while the new one solely caters hotel guests. In addtion the location of the two companies are very far from one another so the latter's clients might differ.

Hi everyone, I resigned last Jan 8 for a managerial position from a BPO company because of the unhealthy environment and the work load affecting my health condition. Di na din ako happy kasi andaming pinapagawang trabaho pero underpaid ako. Nag threaten ang HR just today na they found a screenshot of me encouraging my team to go to a competitor company kasi mas malaki sahod dun. Yes I did that but it was just letting them what's the offer sa kabila but I am in no way employed dun sa kabila. In fact, I am unemployed right now. Sabi sa copy ng contract ko "employee agrees that duting her employment, and for a period of 24months following the termination of her employment, that neither she nor any individual, partner, limited partnership, corporation or other entity or business with which she is in any way affiliated, including without any limitations, any partner, limited partner, director, officer, employee or agent of any such entity, will request, induce or attempt to influence, directly or indirectly, any employee of XYZ..."

Is 24months reasonable pra mapatawan ako ng parusa? Don't I have the right to share that to my colleagues? Hindi naman ako nanghimok na mag apply sila, sinabi ko lng na ganun, but never have I said to resign from XYZ and move tp ABC company. What are my chances of getting out of it if ever mag file man sila ng case against me?

Sana po matulungan nyo ako para makatulog na ko ng maayos tonight. Maraming Salamat po.

medyo mahirap kang makalusot since nakita nila yung screenshot. yes you are correct wala ka ng right to do so. you waived that away when you signed your contract. i would advise you to just stay away from mentioning anything about a competitor to your former officemates. do not even mention the color of their logo. that being said, unless merong lumipat wala namang damage sa kanila so dapat walang damage to be charged against you

I'm not sure kung may lumipat kasi hindi na ako connected sa kanila. Ang alam ko lang maraming nag si alis kasi pangit yung management. Ano po ang dapat kong gawin kung mag file man sila ng case against me?

harapin mo lang yung mga charges.If matalo ka bayaran mo lang yung damages, hindi naman yan criminal so hindi ka mukukulong. As for now remember 24 months yung restrictive covenant kaya i would suggest you stay away from their employees for at least that period

May way ba para malaman ko kung sino ang "direct competitor" ng current employer ko? What I know is I am working in bpo-IT industry, not call center.

I'm planning to apply kasi sa ibang company na nasa same industry. Accenture yung pag-aapplyan ko to be specific. Kaso baka nga maghabol itong current ko kapag nalaman na, assuming, dun ako nagtransfer.

Hindi ko makita yung contract ko para hanapin yung non compete clause. Alam ko meron pero di ko sure kung gaano katagal. <_<

generally any company that may make your employers client migrate to them.
if its the same industry they are generally considered direct competitors s

Thanks

I guess maghanap na lang ako ng iba, than to face possible consequences in the future.

Nakakasakal pala tong non compete clause, considering na mostly bpo ang may opening. <_<

Another question po pala.

What if yung paglilipatang company as a whole ay nasa ibang industry pero yung assignment mo ay parang sa bpo lang din? Sakop padin ba sya ng lintek na clause na to?

Let's say si Accenture yung current then si IBM yung next. Accenture caters BPO as a whole right? Pero yung IBM as a whole ay hindi BPO pero may work sila na parang BPO.

if ibm makes a subsidiary or has a division which accepts business outsourcing then considered competitor parin ito

My goodness. Grabe naman. Nakakasakal naman na masyado tong ncc considering na mostly bpo ang trabaho dito sa ph. Zzzzzz Thanks..

Hi Guys,

Need your opinion on this. So currently I am working at a digital marketing agency as a digital strategist. The thing is I have signed a non-compete clause from my previous employer. So my previous employer is an IT and BPO in nature and I have worked there as an advertising operations specialist. I am a bit worried since both of my work somehow shares the same nature which is advertising and digital but my job right now is not the same from my previous one. Do they have a case against me if ever they decide to go after me with a lawsuit?

On my non-compete clause agreement this is how my previous employer defined itself on the contract. "Whereas, employer is engaged in the business of creating technology, the provision of software development, outsourcing, as well as software consultancy services and supply."

And this is the part of the clause which I am worried about "employee also agrees not to hold any direct or indirect ownership, employment, consultancy, partnership, directorship or any position whatsoever from any company which is likely to compete with the business of the company which specializes in creation of technology and procurement which specializes in creation of technology and procurement of outsourcing services, as well as software consultancy and supply and other matters relating thereto within a period of at least two (2) years after the severance of his/her employment at the company. "Severance of employment" includes termination for just and authorized causes, resignation and retirement."

This thing is stressing me out right now since my previous employer chased after my co-worker with a lawsuit in regard to this ncc agreement. I hope to hear your thoughts on this.

sounds like your former employer has a case, how strong it would be will depend on the specifics

I resigned last June 27, 2018 and started to look for new opportunities. I got an offer July 6, 2018 from another company and the contract signing was scheduled July 9, 2018. On the day of the job offer, I received an email that states the offer was placed on hold. A week and a half later, after several follow up emails, they called me and said they received a memo from their head office which tells them they can't hire applicants working from the previous company I was working for who were resigned less than a year due to non-compete clause. A few of my colleagues applied at the same company and did not declare the company we were working for as their last employer which got them hired. My question is 1. Will they be subject to legal obligations if they breach this non-compete clause with my previous employer? 2. Can I sue them if they start hiring people from my previous company without conducting thorough background investigation since they denied me an employement which consumed a lot of my time? Thanks

1. yes. they can also be subjected to disciplinary action from their current company which could get them fired because they did not declare their previous company.

2. no, it is still the company prerogative who they wants to hire. if they hired your previous co-worker and failed to do their background investigation, it is negligence on their part.