THE SUPREME COURT OF APPEAL
REPUBLIC OF SOUTH AFRICA
| Dayandren Reddy v Siemens Telecommunications (Pty) Ltd | |
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| Supreme Court of Appeal -251/06 | Hearing date: 10 November 2006 |
| Judgment date: 30 November 2006 | |
Agreement in restraint of trade – undertaking by employee not to accept employment with employer’s competitor – enforceability of – common-law approach to agreements in restraint of trade – onus of proof |
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Media Summary of Judgment |
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The SCA decided today to restrain a former employee of Siemens from taking up employment with a competitor, Ericsson, in breach of a restraint clause in his contract of employment. The court held that it was sufficient if it could be shown that there was a risk that the former employee could disclose secret information to which he had access, not that he would do so. This was the very risk that the employer sought to protect itself against by entering into the restraint agreement. The employee was therefore held to the restraint agreement he had entered into voluntarily. |
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