It’s March already, and we’ve marked yet another International Women’s Day, albeit in a much more muted fashion this year. The employment landscape across Asia remains buoyant, with a number of key changes afoot. Over in India, a major overhaul of the national labour laws sees the key pieces of legislation consolidated. Of the four … Read more

The High Court judgment in Quilter Private Client Advisers Limited v Falconer highlights the risk that a short notice period, including during a probationary period, can undermine an employer’s argument that restrictive covenants should be held enforceable on the basis they are necessary to protect confidential information or customer connections.  The judgment also provides some … Read more

It’s the final Asia EPI e-bulletin of the year, and what a year it has been! Our Asia Employment, Pensions and Incentives update this month covers: the recent Court of Appeal judgment in Singapore, which considers what amounts to confidential information and what a business must show to claim damages for a breach; the changes … Read more

The Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy has opened a consultation exercise into the use of non-compete provisions, and potentially other forms of restrictive covenants, by employers in contracts with their staff, including workers and other forms of atypical arrangements. This is the second time in the last few years that the Government has … Read more

The recent case of AB Club Ltd & Anors v Chan Yin Ki Cubie & Anors [2020] HKCFI 2769 reinforces the need for speed when seeking to enforce post-employment covenants. Any undue delay, even if only a matter of weeks, may mean a Court refuses to grant an interim injunction. Background The plaintiffs are a group of … Read more

On 5 October 2020, Indonesia’s Parliament passed the Omnibus Law (2020 Job Creation Law), introducing significant amendments in a range of areas, including Indonesia’s laws on investment, employment, immigration, environmental standards, business licensing and building permits. The law is now awaiting the signature of the President. If the President fails to sign the law within … Read more

A recent EAT decision highlights that employers should consider expressly stating that a confidentiality clause in a COT3 or settlement agreement is a condition and/or requiring the repayment of an appropriate amount in the event of breach, particularly if confidentiality is of key importance to the employer. In Duchy Farm Kennels v Steels, the High … Read more

The High Court has enforced a six month notice/garden leave period and a six month post-termination non-compete covenant against a senior broker, rejecting his claims that the employer had committed various repudiatory breaches releasing him from those provisions. The broker alleged that instances of unacceptable behaviour, a failure to deal with his complaints about these, … Read more