Question about a clause in my employment contract

[Leggy_Girl]

Hi guys, i'm back! As always I need help with something, and wondered if anyone could answer this for me please?

I'm a fitness instructor working in a little gym, but want to get a new job because my employers are impossible to work with.

Something that worries me though is that in my contract it says i can't work in another gym within 5 miles of the one i currently work in, for 6 months after i leave their employment. My employer keeps pointing this out to me because he knows i'm not happy and want to leave. His words are 'we will legally enforce this clause if we need to' .

I want to work in another gym, but 5 miles from my current work place encompasses the whole damn city! I can't travel further away and to be frank don't want to.

Is my employer blowing smoke with this clause in my contract and can he actually dictate where i can work after leaving? Surely no one can effectively tell you that can't seek employment, no matter what sector it's in? Is this idle threats to get me to stay? (they keep driving staff out because of their attitude and are currently down to 2 members of staff including me, down from 7!).


____________________
"One moment can change a day, one day can change a life and one life can change the world." Siddhartha Gautama

[Itchy]

Its only valid if the clause is reasonable but the test of reasonable has to be tested in court.

Ie they can't say for the rest of your life, or within 100 miles as this would be unreasonable.

Also I think thereis something about what they seek to protect in that it is allowable to protect say their clients confidential information and secrets used in the industry.

However its not ok to protect a monopoly or business interests by muscling out the competition.

HOWEVER seek legal advice , CRB maybe or a solicitors free session workshop thing. And check the exact wording of the contract.

As accountants are not supposed to nick clients but it happens all the time and I've never heard anything come of it.


A clever way out is to look at the wording it says Gym? , I'm not working for a Gym I'm working for a health club. But again seek legal advice.
____________________
Spain 2008France 2007Big one 2009 We all die. The goal isn't to live forever, the goal is to create something that will. In the end, your life will flash before your eyes. Make sure it is worth watching.

[stinkwheel]

Moral of the story.

Read a contract before you sign it. If you aren't happy with something, get it changed (or, my personal favourite, score it out then sign it, 95% chance they just file it without looking. Cue them looking like a fool in court when asked to produce the original document).

There is a similar clause in my contract but I thought it was reasonable. It is there to stop me setting up in competition to the company I work for and stealing their clients.

As a general rule court will NOT prevent someone from earning a living, regardless of what it says in the contract.

If you did go and work somewhere else within 5 miles, they would have to get an injunction taken out against you which you could then appeal. It's almost certainly too expensive and too much like hard work for the little to no benefit they'd get from such an action.
____________________
“Rule one: Always stick around for one more drink. That's when things happen. That's when you find out everything you want to know.”
I did the 2010 Round Britain Rally on my 350 Bullet. 89 landmarks, 3 months, 9,500 miles.

[Leggy_Girl]

I did read it before i signed it, and i thought it was reasonable at the time. Also as time went on i didn't want to work in another gym after this because they had all but put me off working in gyms ever again, so i naively thought 'that bit doesn't apply to me, my next job will be in an office. I'll make sure of it'. Sounds stupid i know but that's it in a nut shell if i'm honest.

I've applied for scores of office jobs in the last 5 months, but have gotten no where. When there's 100 applicants for one position the odds are against me, and although i've not given up i'm now getting desperate. My logic therefore is i should now apply to gyms as well, but not through choice. I see this as necessity and bettering my chances, and not necessarily fuelling the competiton against them. I'm not happy at the gym because of my employers, and it's bringing me down. If i have to work in another gym just to get away from them then i'm willing to do it, but i don't want anymore aggro from them.

Surely i don't have to tell them where my next job is going to be? How would they ever find out? What would the injunction against me intail (if they found out and if they decided to pursue it?)?
____________________
"One moment can change a day, one day can change a life and one life can change the world." Siddhartha Gautama

[Tonka]

Had a little search on t'internet and found this.

Looks like the situation you are in and seemed relevant, so hope it helps!
____________________
'The core of a man's spirit comes from new experiences'
Suzuki SV650S (Clean); Yamaha XT250 Serow (Dirty)

[Leggy_Girl]

[stinkwheel]

[stinkwheel]

[MattEMulsion]

How about if you got yourself the sack, surely then they couldn't legally stop you from working wherever you wanted.
____________________
Yamaha YZF-R6

[Graprilia]

surely if and when you resign effectively you are termiating your employment thus ending the contract which means you are free to do as you please.

However if in the contract you signed clearly stated the fact then i guess your stuck or need to seek legal advice.
____________________
Piaggo liberty 125 SOLD - CBR 125 - SOLD Aprilia RS 125 - SOLD CBR 400 NC29 - SOLD ZX6R currently own https://bikepics.com/members/Graprilia/

[Itchy]

[ace2004k]

You can always use the 'Unfair Contract Terms Act 1977' as a come back to your employers percieved threats. This would more than likely be backed up by the recently passed Employment Act 2008!

I suspect that he will just be calling your bluff because even if he did take you to court (which i doubt he would because the costs would be too high to justify) no judge in the land would rule in favour of a term that restricts employment in this way.

If you are unhappy serve your notice & leave the job. Even if you decide to work in the gym within 5 miles you or your new employer would be under no obligation to give the old employer details on your current employment status...data protection act & all that!

[stinkwheel]

[Phoenix]

[Pie-Roe]

Are there any gyms within 5 miles?

Pyro
____________________
Previous: GSF600, FZR600 x2, ZXR750, XT600 Tenere, CB125, CZ125, ETZ 250, ER5, CCM R30, DRZ400, RF600x4, RF900x2, GS500, VTR1000F, 640 SMC, CB250 NIGHTHAWK, GT550x3, GPX750 TE610, CB500, X11x2, SV650, ZING 125, TL1000R,CB250 Superdream, CBR1100XX

[Toukakoukan]

Personally I'd say that it sounds highly unenforceable to me and even if they did want to try it on, there is no way it'd be worth the hassle of a course case for them to try and get it enforced.

Unless you have the magic jim'll-fix-it cure to obesity that you and you alone can hand out in person of course :p
____________________
RTW Motorcycle Blog

[Leggy_Girl]

[Itchy]

The wording on my contract is:

[ace2004k]

The wording of your contract seems to point toward competitions laws that apply to companies and not individuals.

If he did have the balls to take it to court you would, i suspect have a very good defense as my belief when it comes to competition clauses is that they can only be enforceable if you are senior enough within the business to have a material effect on the business if you were to join a rival. No disrespect but i do not think your current position would be covered in this way!

Work your notice per your contract and call his bluff. I suspect it will not be worth his time!

[tutton]

Isnt that gym not in direct competiton, and caters for different kind of clients?
Thought so....
What can he say about that..
____________________
Past: '05 Peugeot XPS '99 Aprillia RS125 '94 FZR600R
Current: '02 ZX636 A1P '51 CCM R30

[JonB]

I think in this current economic climate, it would get thrown out of court, you need to pay the bills, so the other gym could GFT.
____________________
Be careful whose advice you buy, but, be patient with those who supply it. Advice is a form of nostalgia, dispensing it is a way of fishing the past from the disposal, wiping it off, painting over the ugly parts and recycling it for more than it?s worth.

[Leggy_Girl]

[Itchy]

This thread is USELESS without pics, of yourself so we can see how suitable or 'qualified' you are as a fitness instructor!
____________________
Spain 2008France 2007Big one 2009 We all die. The goal isn't to live forever, the goal is to create something that will. In the end, your life will flash before your eyes. Make sure it is worth watching.

[colin1]

Yeah some people on here might need a personal trainer...
____________________
colin1 is officially faster than god

[Leggy_Girl]