Non-Competition Agreements: Problems of Theory and Practice
https://doi.org/10.22394/2686-7834-2022-2-39-49
Abstract
The realization of freedom of labor by the employee through the termination of employment and the subsequent conclusion of an employment contract with a company that competes with the previous employer is detrimental to the interests of the later. The article contains an attempt to substantiate the necessity and possibility of introducing noncompetition agreements in the Russian labor legislation. In the light of the wide spread of such agreements abroad, the experience of various countries is represented, and the main aspects to be taken into consideration while concluding non-competition agreements are analyzed: 1) the reasonableness of conclusion of such agreements; 2) the form of conclusion; 3) the information about the actions to be performed/not performed by the employee; 4) the categories of employees with whom non-competition agreements may be concluded; 5) the term and the territory of the agreement; 6) compensation of the employee. Author reviewed the current positions of state authorities and the scientific community on the raised issue. In addition, the author provides arguments in favor of using this type of agreements, as well as possible options for adapting it to national legal conditions, taking into account the principle of freedom of labor.
About the Author
D. V. AhmetyanovRussian Federation
Denis V. Ahmetyanov, PhD candidate
Moscow
References
1. Abbasova, E. V., Vasilev, V. A. Some Issues of Correlation Between Labor Law and Related Branches of Law [Nekotorye voprosy sootnosheniya trudovogo prava i smezhnykh otraslei prava]. SUSU Bulletin. Law Series [Vestnik YuUrGU. Seriya “Pravo”], 2021. Vol. 21, No. 1. P. 47–50. (In Rus.)
2. Alsufev, A. I., Zavyalova, E. K. Personnel Training and Development Practices as a Factor in the Innovative Development of the Organization [Praktiki obucheniya i razvitiya personala kak faktor innovatsionnogo razvitiya organizatsii]. Bulletin of St. Petersburg University. Management [Vestnik Sankt-Peterburgskogo universiteta. Menedzhment]. 2014. No. 3. P. 101–134. (In Rus.)
3. Basalaeva, S. P. The Legal Nature of an Employment Contract: a Monograph [Pravovaya priroda trudovogo dogovora: monografiya]. Krasnoyarsk: Siberian Federal University [Sib. feder. un-t], 2013. 128 p. (In Rus.)
4. Varshavskii, K. M. Employment Law of USSR [Trudovoe pravo SSSR]. Leningrad: Academia, 1924. 180 p. (In Rus.)
5. Vasilev, A. N. Competition in Economics [Konkurentsiya v ekonomike]. The Big Russian Encyclopedia [Bol’shaya rossiiskaya entsiklopediya]. [Electronic resource]. URL: https://bigenc.ru/economics/text/2090644 (Access date: 19.02.2022). (In Rus.)
6. Vasileva, S. Working on Two Fronts: When the Top Goes to a Competitor [Rabota na dva fronta: kogda top ukhodit k konkurentu]. Labor law [Trudovoe pravo], 2018. No. 1. P. 75–87. (In Rus.)
7. Zherebtsov, R. N. Non-Competition Agreement: Russian Experience, Risks and Opportunities for Business [Soglashenie o nekonkurentsii: rossiiskii opyt, riski i vozmozhnosti dlya biznesa]. Legal Reference System “System Jurist” [YuSS “Sistema Yurist”]. Dated 23.04.2020. [Electronic resource]. URL: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2EGSMZ8Xhkk (Access date: 22.02.2022). (In Rus.)
8. Zavgorodnii, A. V. Non-Competition Agreement with Employees (Foreign Experience) [Soglashenie o nekonkurentsii s rabotnikami (zarubezhnyi opyt)]. The Petersburg Lawyer [Peterburgskii yurist], 2016. No. 3. P. 73‒81. (In Rus.)
9. Kandyba, A. A. Non-Competition Agreements Between Employer and Employee: International and Domestic Experience [Soglasheniya o nekonkurentsii mezhdu rabotodatelem i rabotnikom: mezhdunarodnyi i otechestvennyi opyt]. Moscow Journal of International Law [Moskovskii zhurnal mezhdunarodnogo prava], 2005. No. 4. P. 252–259. (In Rus.)
10. Kiselev, I. Ya. Comparative and International Labor Law: Textbook for Higher Education Institutions [Sravnitel’noe i mezhdunarodnoe trudovoe pravo: uchebnik dlya vuzov]. M.: The Case [Delo], 1999. 728 p. (In Rus.)
11. Legashova, E. S., Muksinov, A. R. Non-Competition Agreements with Employees: English Experience and Russian Reality [Soglasheniya o nekonkurentsii s rabotnikami: angliiskii opyt i rossiiskaya deistvitel’nost’]. Statute [Zakon], 2010. No. 4. P. 51–60. (In Rus.)
12. Lipkovskaya, V. V. Employer’s Interests in Labor Law: A Candidate of Legal Sciences [Interesy rabotodatelya v trudovom prave. Dis. ... kand. yurid. nauk]. M., 2011. 183 p. (In Rus.)
13. Lyutov, N. L. The Severance Payments and Non-Competition Agreements with Executive Officers [Vyplaty pri uvol’nenii i dogovory o nekonkurentsii s rukovodyashchimi rabotnikami]. Lex Russica, 2017. No. 10. P. 123–130. (In Rus.)
14. Orlovskij, Yu. P. Labor Law of Russia. Textbook for Bachelors [Trudovoe pravo Rossii: uchebnik dlya bakalavrov]. M.: Izdatelstvo Urait, 2014. 854 p. (In Rus.)
15. Uvaeva, M. Theft of Technology by the Dismissed [Vorovstvo tekhnologii uvolennymi]. Labor Law [Trudovoe pravo], 2016. No. 2. P. 85–94. (In Rus.)
16. Urchukov, R. M. Non-Competition Agreement as a Restriction on Employees’ Freedom of Labor [Soglashenie o nekonkurentsii kak ogranichenie svobody truda rabotnikov]. Labor Law in Russia and Abroad [Trudovoe pravo v Rossii i za rubezhom], 2019. No. 3. P. 31–34. (In Rus.)
17. Ferapontova-Maksimova, N. V. Non-Competition Agreements: Foreign Experience and Russian Perspectives [Soglasheniya o nekonkurentsii: zarubezhnyi opyt i rossiiskie perspektivy]. Labor Disputes [Trudovye spory], 2010. No. 10. P. 40–47. (In Rus.)
18. Filippova, I. A. Features of the Legal Regulation of Labor under the Legislation of Russia and France. A Comparative Legal Study [Osobennosti pravovogo regulirovaniya truda po zakonodatel’stvu Rossii i Frantsii. Sravnitel’nopravovoe issledovanie: monografiya]. Nizhnii Novgorod: Nizhny Novgorod State University [Nizhegorodskii gosuniversitet], 2016. 115 p. (In Rus.)
19. Fomina, L. To some a Parachute, to Others a Weight. Tax Implications of Large Payments to Top Managers [Komu parashyut, komu girya. Nalogovye posledstviya bol’shikh vyplat top-menedzheram]. Financial Newspaper [Finansovaya gazeta], 2020. No. 1. P. 5–7. (In Rus.)
20. Chudinov, O. R. Non-Competition Clause as a Condition of Employment Contract Under French Law [Ogovorka o nekonkurirovanii kak uslovie trudovogo dogovora v sootvetstvii s pravom Frantsii]. Academic notes of the OSU. Series: Humanities and Social Sciences [Uchenye zapiski OGU. Seriya: Gumanitarnye i sotsial’nye nauki]. Orel: Publishing house of FGBOU VPO Oryol State University [Izd-vo FGBOU VPO “Orlovskii gosudarstvennyi universitet”], 2015. No. 1 (64). P. 275–279. (In Rus.)
21. Shvaleva, E. S. Restricting the Mobility of Employees to Protect Employer’s Interests: Non-Competition Agreements [Ogranichenie mobil’nosti rabotnikov v tselyakh zashchity interesov rabotodatelya: soglasheniya o nekonkurentsii]. Labor Law in Russia and Abroad [Trudovoe pravo v Rossii i za rubezhom], 2018. No. 3. P. 38–41. (In Rus.)
22. Shtrineva, T. I. The Principle of Freedom of Labor at the Present Stage of Development of Labor Law (Theoretical and Legal Aspect) [Printsip svobody truda na sovremennom etape razvitiya trudovogo prava (teoretiko-pravovoi aspekt)]. Labor law in Russia and abroad [Trudovoe pravo v Rossii i za rubezhom], 2019. No. 4. P. 11–13. (In rus.)
23. Einem, D., Ogiwara, Y. [et al.]. Multi-Country Survey on Covenants Not to Compete. Greenberg Traurig LLP, 01.03.2018. [Electronic resource]. URL: https://www.gtlaw.com/en/-/media/files/insights/alerts/2018/3/gtnoncompeteeuroinfopak.pdf (access date: 28.02.2022).
24. McCoy D., Riley S., Yan J. [et al.]. Summary of Covenants Not to Compete: A Global Perspective. Fenwick & West LLP. [Electronic resource]. URL: https://www.fenwick.com/FenwickDocuments/RS_Summary-of-Covenants.pdf (access date: 01.03.2022)
Review
For citations:
Ahmetyanov D.V. Non-Competition Agreements: Problems of Theory and Practice. Theoretical and Applied Law. 2022;(2):39-49. (In Russ.) https://doi.org/10.22394/2686-7834-2022-2-39-49