Hearing Conflicts of interest
Hi
I have been suspended from my job where I have been working for over 5 years, in April of this year 2 fellow colleagues of mine left to work at other companies, we then decided to open our own company doing exactly what my current employer does, which is why now I am being charged.
She is also charging me damages to stealing and approaching her clients.
I have never approached her clients or pitched for any person, we secured work for a client that my company had used before only due to the fact that one of my partners was now working for the company and she was actually now the client, I never approached this client.
I have admitted to guilt on opening a business but not approaching any of their clients
She is also charging me for conflict of interest but why does the company have clauses in their contacts and policies and procedures that only apply to certain staff, is this fair, a fellow colleague actually was in her disciplinary and was suppose to get dismissed because she leaked confidential company information to our client and then after the hearing she told my boss that I have another company, now nothing has happened to her, how is this not unfair?
Category: Labour and Employment, Disciplinary Actions
Region: South Africa, Gauteng
1 Answer
Hello. Please have a look at your employment contract which will clearly stipulate what you can do and cannot do as an employee. Most contracts prohibit an employee from running a similar business while in their employ and sometimes ( for a period of time ) even after you have left their employment . It’s called restraint of trade. As you rightly mention your actions created a conflict of interest which is serious. Each case depends on its own facts , so I am unable to comment on how your colleagues case was handled. My take is this : Once you had decided to run a similar business by the side, then it means you should have had plans in place to resign from your present job. Self employment and running your own business is always the way to go.