Pay careful attention to trade-restraint clauses

By MARIE WILSON*

Q. I work for a building company as a commission salesperson.

As part of my contract I have signed a 12-month restraint-of-trade clause, prohibiting me from working for another building company for 12 months, from the time of leaving my present employer.

This would seem to breach basic human rights, if I had a disagreement with my present employer, in that I could not continue on in my chosen career for an opposition building company.

I would be interested in your opinion.

A. The idea of a restraint-of-trade clause is to protect the intellectual property that belongs to your employer but is easy to carry off in your head - for example, your knowledge of your current employer's products and terms of trade, your lists of customers and relationships with builders.

This knowledge is created while you work and it belongs to your employer, and they don't want to give it away to a competitor.

This doesn't necessarily require you to give up your career if you leave your current employment.

You could, for example, move to a non-competitive industry (not building) for commission sales work, or work in another geographical area.

You could try to negotiate for a shorter restraint period, say six months, if your knowledge will quickly become out-of-date but your basic skills will still be in demand.

In future, pay careful attention to restraint-of-trade clauses in your employment agreement.

Few employers will waive them entirely, but you may be able to negotiate shorter terms, specific geographic limits (the suburb or town where you are currently employed) or a particular kind of work rather than a blanket restraint.

This leaves you with more flexible options than you currently have.

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Q. What do you think is the best way to approach your first week in a new job?

I'm about to start a new job and I want to think about the best strategies to get off to a flying start.

In this job I didn't start off so well - I got a bit narked that when I arrived my computer wasn't set up, let alone linked to the intra and internet, and was asked to pull my head in, so I don't want to repeat that.

A. It's amazing the amount of lost productivity (and goodwill) when new staff have no equipment and no idea of what is expected.

Here's hoping your next position has your workstation ready, but whether they do or not, there are a number of things that you can do to get settled in.

First, spend time with your new bosses, asking them to go over their expectations of you in your new job - not just overall, but what they would like to see from you in your first week, fortnight and month on the job.

Perhaps schedule follow-up meetings now, so that you can meet to review your progress at these points and thereafter at three-monthly intervals until you have completed your first year.

Second, ask for a project or to participate in meetings that will enable you to meet people with whom you will be working.

You've got more time than anyone else at that point, and if you can help someone out and learn as you go, that's a positive start.

Third, try to learn and remember names of your co-workers.

Maybe have lunch with two or three different people each day until you can greet most people in the hall without difficulty.

Fourth, ask for all the printed and web-based material you can handle.

Skim the policy manuals now, read your employment agreement and associated HR policies while you've got the time.

Get copies of company annual reports or anything that will make you more familiar with the organisation, its history, products and management team.

Remember, you're on a steep learning curve, and soaking up background information and learning the new systems are foundation steps for all the day-to-day operations that follow.

* Dr Marie Wilson is associate professor of management at the University of Auckland Business School, research director of the ICEHOUSE business accelerator and a veteran of 20 years in corporate management and small business.

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