Does a competitor clause in my contract still apply if I am terminated by the company?
Slight background: I got fired for missing work often because my son (4 mths old) keeps falling sick. Requested to work from home so that I can take care of my boy (I’m a graphic designer so wfh should’ve been perfectly fine) but got rejected as they said “we don’t do that here”, even though we did wfh during pandemic period and things were fine.
There is also 1 other guy in the company who works from home permanently, so I asked my boss how come he can do it but not me, and his reply was “because he handles the server so he kind of slips off the radar).
Anyways in the contract, it says that if I resign, I cannot go to a competitor company within a year, but since I got terminated, does that still apply?
Netizens’ comments
- Non-compete contracts with such broad definitions are most likely unenforceable. If you sign a non-compete which specifies: a reasonable duration e.g 6 months specifc named competitors geography of next working environment..
Also, don’t have to tell them about which company you are joining next.
Them: “Which company are you going to?” You: “I am not disclosing that” Them: “We have a right to know” You: “No” - Based on what you say, it probably won’t apply and in your context it’s likely that such a clause will be thrown out by the court in the first place.
- Enforcing a non-compete clause can be particularly challenging if your expertise lies in graphic designing and your job options are limited to a specific market.
i would advise your company to go fly kite - Non compete clauses in SG is not enforceable, even if you sign it. It’s ‘sign already your boss happy, you happy, everyone happy’ but no use de.
- This is not legal advice but based on what you said if the employment contract explicitly states “resign” and not “termination of contract” then I think it’s okay. Many contracts use the latter so that it catches both situations. In any event, non-competes are rarely enforceable in court unless it is reasonable (and the threshold for it is quite high) which is a whole legal test I won’t go into. I would suggest you get a lawyer to peruse your contract and give you a professional legal opinion. If money is an issue there are various free legal clinics around SG you can seek a pro bono lawyer’s opinion on that clause and your circumstances.