Legal Question in Employment Law in Nigeria

"Can I join a company in business similar to my current employer when the my current employment letter stated I cant join similar company unitl 12 months after resignation"


Asked on 9/10/14, 4:53 am

1 Answer from Attorneys

There is no straight and fast answer to your question.

Generally, Nigerian courts are of the view that such contractual clauses are valid and binding only if they are reasonable with reference to the interest of the parties concerned and the public. If you leave your present employment to join this company and your present employer decides to sue you for a breach of your employment contract, for him to succeed in court, he must be able to show that; he has some proprietary interest deserving of protection; there is danger or mischief from which he seeks to protect that interest and the restrictive covenants he has put in place to safeguard that interest is reasonable with respect to the time and geographical area to which it is limited.

Nigeria courts in determining whether such clauses are valid normally consider several factors such as; the nature of the present employment, the nature of the new employment, the time and geographical scope of the clause. All these factors depend of the entire facts of each case.

I hope this helps.

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Answered on 9/10/14, 7:43 am


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