9 The Cross-Border Enforcement of Claims Against Employees

Abstract

This chapter explores the cross-border enforcement of claims against employees. It begins by outlining the position in English law. The doctrine of restraint of trade may extend beyond the enforcement of post-termination restrictive covenants to the enforcement of garden leave clauses and also to the partial enforcement of invalid clauses through the doctrine of severance. In relation to jurisdiction, under the Brussels I Regulation recast, claims made against employees are subject to very restrictive rules. These rules are now mirrored in section 15C of the Civil Jurisdiction and Judgments Act 1982. In relation to choice of law, the enforcement of restrictive covenants may raise issues which go beyond normal contractual principles because of the involvement of the restraint of trade doctrine and rules of public policy. The chapter then looks at remedies and the availability of injunctive relief in international cases.