Non-solicitation and non-competition clauses

Non-solicitation and non-competition clauses are subject to complicated rules. As a result, many companies seek legal assistance with the drafting of restrictive employment clauses.

NJORD Law Firm can assist your company with the drafting of restrictive employment clauses for both employees and executives.

NJORD’s lawyers have extensive experience in this field. That is why you as an employer is ensured that the clauses are valid and that your company is protected in the best way possible. Furthermore, we also render assistance in cases of disputes regarding employment clauses, including with respect to validity, extent, and compensation.

The Danish Act on an Employer’s Obligation to Inform Employees of the Conditions Applicable to the Employment Relationship regulates non-solicitation and non-competition clauses entered into on 1 January 2016 or later.

Non-solicitation and non-competition clauses entered into before 1 January 2016 are still subject to the current rules of the Danish Salaried Employees Act and the Danish Contracts Act.

A different set of rules applies to clauses entered into before 15 June 1999. Likewise, special rules apply to executives and self-employed.

A non-competition clause implies that a resigned employee must not take employment with a company competing with the former employer.

A non-solicitation clause implies that a resigned employee must not have commercial contact with the former employer’s customers or other business-related connections, including take employment with the former employer’s customers.

Furthermore, it is possible to agree on a so-called combined clause if you as an employer want a particularly broad protection.

Non-solicitation and non-competition clauses can be relevant as an extra protection against employees’ actions of unfair competition when the employment is terminated. Employment clauses provide wider protection than the protection that follows from the duties of loyalty and confidentiality, the rules governing the Danish Marketing Practices Act, and the Danish Act on Trade Secrets.

As an employer, it is important that you consider the level of protection you need, weighed up against the price you must pay to add the clause to an employment contract.

NJORD Law Firm can assist your company with all the challenges that may occur in relation to employment clauses.

Our lawyers can answer all your legal questions concerning non-solicitation and non-competition clauses, and we are experts in both the most recent and the old rules. We render assistance based on your company’s specific situation and industry.

We can assist you with the drafting of non-solicitation and non-competition clauses to both salaried employees and executives. In addition, we provide advice in cases where an employee or executive contests the validity, the level of compensation, or the extent of an already agreed clause.