Courts have endorsed covenants drafted to protect employers’ legitimate interests.

Covenants must be drafted to only cover legitimate and protectable interests. It has been held that trade connections such as customers, suppliers, trade secrets and confidential information are legitimate. The employer will have to be able to make these reasons stand up in court. The question that must be asked is: would a lack of restriction risk potential damage to the employer’s interests? A binding restrictive covenant must not be any wider than is reasonably necessary to protect these interests.

Take into account:

• geography;
• scope;
• duration;
• seniority of employee.