Is a former employee required to refrain from competing with a former employer under a non-competition agreement?
British Columbia, Canada
The following excerpt is from Axiom Services Ltd. v. Weigert, 2005 BCSC 145 (CanLII):
There is not, in general, any duty on a former employee to refrain from competing with a former employer. Indeed, even express contractual terms restraining an employee from engaging in competition with a former employer are seen as restraints of trade, and unless carefully limited, will be held to be void as contrary to the public interest. On the other hand, non-competition agreements that are entered into by vendors of businesses will generally be given more scope: see J.G. Collins Insurance Agencies v. Elsley Estate, 1978 CanLII 7 (SCC), [1978] 2 S.C.R. 916.
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