Hello all, Its been a long time since I have posted on CAG, but it was the first place I thought of in relation to a nagging issue which has arisen and I thought perhaps someone might be able to definitively answer an employment related question here. I have been employed full time by a private company for the last six months. A month or so ago each employee was asked to sign an updated version of our contract of employment. We were told by our manager that there were a few minor changes. I signed the contract, and despite what I am about to post below, do not regret doing so, because prior to joining this company I had been out of work for a while, and I am happy where I work. That said, there are a number of other private companies which do similar/the same type of work in the area, and the company I work for notoriously pays lower salaries than the industry average. The vast majority of colleagues who leave the business go to work for another similar company for more money, and turnover of staff is unusually high, I would say, because of this pay gap. A colleague mentioned to me recently that the new contracts we all signed contained an updated 'non-compete' clause in our contracts, which reads as follows: The Company I work for provides services to a government department. In my role I come into contact with customers and their details, but I do not have any detailed specialised knowledge other than that which I brought to the role through my background and skills. I do not build or maintain business relationships or operate at a senior level. Is my employer just fed up with people leaving to go to work for similar businesses? What would happen if, in the future, I resigned and joined a similar business within the same Area within a 12 month period? Would my current employer have any legal recourse? How can it be reasonable to prevent a person from going to work for another company? I would not share confidential or sensitive information or undermine the business interests of my current employer, but I am very good at my job and could probably earn 30-40% more elsewhere. Just to be clear I have no intention of leaving my current employer at this moment in time, but might well do in a year or so. Thanks.