Competitive activity of an employee after termination of employment.

On the other hand, Article 101² § 1 of the Labour Code states that the provision of Article 101¹ § 1 of the Labour Code applies accordingly when the employer and the employee who have access to particularly important information, the disclosure of which could expose the employer to harm, conclude a non-competition agreement after the termination of the employment relationship.

Thus, the non-competition agreement after the termination of the employment relationship should also be concluded in writing under pain of nullity. Such an agreement may only bind certain employees, namely those who have access to particularly important information, the disclosure of which could expose the employer to harm. A necessary element of such a contract is also the indication of compensation for the former employee, as well as the duration of the prohibition. The compensation cannot be lower than 25% of the remuneration received by the employee before the termination of the employment relationship for the period corresponding to the period of the non-competition clause; the compensation may be paid in monthly installments. Such a contract must be structured in such a way that the employee knows what his or her obligations are. The Polish Supreme Court  (Sąd Najwyższy) noted the above in its judgment of 3 December 2008, case ref. no. I PK 97/08, pointing out "In order to assess whether the scope of the competition prohibition was sufficiently specified, it may be of significance whether the manner of determining the scope of the prohibition allowed the former employee to determine - without excessive effort and on the basis of data available to him - the scope of obligations imposed on him by the competition clause.”

The prohibition of competition ceases to apply before the expiry of the period for which the agreement provided for in that provision was concluded, if the reasons justifying that prohibition cease to exist or if the employer fails to fulfill its obligation to pay compensation.

Read more in part one (https://lawyer-in-poland.com/179-obligation-of-an-employee-and-a-former-employee-to-refrain-from-activities-harmful-to-the-employer-prohibition-to-conduct-a-competitive-business-part-one) and three.

Ewa Kosowska-Czapla

Legal Adviser / Restructuring Adviser

Szczecin, 9.07.2019.

Competitive activity of an employee after termination of employment.

On the other hand, Article 101² § 1 of the Labour Code states that the provision of Article 101¹ § 1 of the Labour Code applies accordingly when the employer and the employee who have access to particularly important information, the disclosure of which could expose the employer to harm, conclude a non-competition agreement after the termination of the employment relationship.

Thus, the non-competition agreement after the termination of the employment relationship should also be concluded in writing under pain of nullity. Such an agreement may only bind certain employees, namely those who have access to particularly important information, the disclosure of which could expose the employer to harm. A necessary element of such a contract is also the indication of compensation for the former employee, as well as the duration of the prohibition. The compensation cannot be lower than 25% of the remuneration received by the employee before the termination of the employment relationship for the period corresponding to the period of the non-competition clause; the compensation may be paid in monthly installments. Such a contract must be structured in such a way that the employee knows what his or her obligations are. The Polish Supreme Court  (Sąd Najwyższy) noted the above in its judgment of 3 December 2008, case ref. no. I PK 97/08, pointing out "In order to assess whether the scope of the competition prohibition was sufficiently specified, it may be of significance whether the manner of determining the scope of the prohibition allowed the former employee to determine - without excessive effort and on the basis of data available to him - the scope of obligations imposed on him by the competition clause.”

The prohibition of competition ceases to apply before the expiry of the period for which the agreement provided for in that provision was concluded, if the reasons justifying that prohibition cease to exist or if the employer fails to fulfill its obligation to pay compensation.

Read more in part one (https://lawyer-in-poland.com/179-obligation-of-an-employee-and-a-former-employee-to-refrain-from-activities-harmful-to-the-employer-prohibition-to-conduct-a-competitive-business-part-one) and three.

Ewa Kosowska-Czapla

Legal Adviser / Restructuring Adviser

Szczecin, 9.07.2019.