Confidential Information, Restrictive Covenants and Business Protection Services for Employers

Practical employment law advice to help employers protect confidential information, client relationships, key employees and wider commercial interests.

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Employees may have access to valuable confidential information, customer relationships, business plans and commercially sensitive knowledge. If a key individual leaves to join a competitor, establish a competing business or recruit colleagues, inadequate contractual protection can expose an employer to financial loss and significant disruption.

DTM Legal advises employers on the safeguards that can be used throughout the employment relationship and following termination. We help businesses put appropriate confidentiality provisions, restrictive covenants, notice periods and garden leave clauses in place, tailored to the risks associated with particular roles.

Our Employment & HR solicitors also support employers when a breach is suspected or threatened. We can help assess the available evidence, contact the employee or new employer, seek appropriate undertakings and work with our Dispute Resolution team where urgent court action may be required.

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Confidential Information, Restrictive Covenants and Business Protection Legal Services

We provide practical advice and support across a wide range of business protection matters, including:

  • Drafting and reviewing confidentiality clauses
  • Drafting restrictive covenants
  • Non-compete restrictions
  • Non-solicitation and non-dealing clauses
  • Restrictions on recruiting or poaching employees
  • Garden leave provisions
  • Notice periods and termination arrangements
  • Protection of trade secrets and commercially sensitive information
  • Intellectual property provisions within employment contracts
  • Reviewing protections for directors, executives and senior employees
  • Auditing restrictive covenants across the workforce
  • Updating contractual protections following promotions or role changes
  • Advising on employee and executive exits
  • Preparing exit letters and reminders of continuing obligations
  • Managing access to systems, devices and confidential information
  • Advising on suspected misuse of confidential information
  • Responding to team moves and employee poaching
  • Correspondence with former employees and new employers
  • Negotiating undertakings and agreed protections
  • Applying for injunctions and other urgent court remedies
  • Claims for damages arising from contractual breaches
  • Training for HR professionals, managers and senior leadership teams

Why Instruct DTM Legal?

Business protection measures need to reflect the genuine risks faced by the employer and the responsibilities of the individual employee. Our Employment & HR team takes the time to understand your organisation, workforce and commercial relationships before advising on appropriate contractual safeguards.

We help employers put practical protections in place without relying on unnecessarily broad restrictions that may be difficult to enforce. This includes reviewing whether confidentiality obligations, garden leave and targeted restrictions can work together to protect the business during and after employment.

Where a breach occurs, speed and strategy can be critical. We can help preserve evidence, assess the strength of the contractual protections and pursue a proportionate response, working with our Dispute Resolution solicitors where injunctions or formal proceedings are required.

We provide:

  • Practical and commercially focused employment law advice
  • Contractual protections tailored to particular roles and risks
  • Clear guidance on the enforceability of restrictive covenants
  • Support with senior employee and executive exits
  • Rapid advice where a breach is suspected or threatened
  • Coordination between employment and dispute resolution specialists
  • Strategic support with negotiation, injunctions and court proceedings

Get in Touch

Whether you want to strengthen your employment contracts, manage the departure of a key employee or respond to a suspected breach, our Employment & HR team can help you protect your business.

To discuss your requirements, contact us by emailing employment@dtmlegal.com or calling 01244 354 800 / 0151 321 0000.

Key Contact
Partner / Head of Employment & HR
DTM Legal
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Let’s Discuss Your Case

Reviewing your contracts, working practices and exit procedures can help identify weaknesses before an employee departure places important commercial interests at risk. Read our Key Considerations guide to understand some of the points a solicitor may wish to discuss when responding to your enquiry. It can help you prepare the relevant information and make your initial conversation more productive.

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DTM Legal
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Employment & HR Team

Tom Evans

Partner / Head of Employment & HR
Jamie-Lea Taylor

Paralegal, Residential Conveyancing
Molly Drake

Solicitor, Commercial Property
Alison Brennan

Head of Compliance and Service Delivery

Frequently Asked Questions

Commonly asked questions concerning confidential information, restrictive covenants and business protection.

Restrictive covenants are not automatically enforceable simply because they appear in a signed employment contract. Their enforceability will depend on factors including the business interest being protected and whether the restriction is appropriately limited in its wording, duration and scope.

Restrictions should be clear and tailored to the employee’s role and access to customers, employees or confidential information. A provision that goes further than reasonably necessary may be difficult to enforce.

A non-solicitation clause can restrict a former employee from actively approaching particular customers, while a non-dealing clause may prevent them from conducting business with those customers even where the customer makes the first approach.

Employers may also use non-poaching provisions to protect their workforce and non-compete clauses to restrict certain competitive activities. The appropriate restrictions will depend on the employee’s role and the specific risks faced by the business.

Employers should review protections when contracts become outdated, the business enters new markets or an employee’s role changes significantly. A promotion may give an employee greater access to confidential information, customers or strategic decision-making.

Any new or amended contractual restrictions should be introduced carefully and supported by an appropriate contractual process. Reviewing protections only after an employee resigns may leave the employer with limited options.

Review the signed contract and preserve evidence of the suspected breach. Relevant evidence may include emails, messages, customer communications, system access records and information about the employee’s new role or business.

Legal advice should be obtained promptly. Depending on the circumstances, the employer may seek undertakings, the return of information, a negotiated resolution, damages or an injunction preventing further breaches.

Employment contracts can include obligations preventing employees from using or disclosing confidential information during and after employment. The wording should identify the categories of information requiring protection and distinguish genuine confidential material from information that is already public or forms part of the employee’s general skills and experience.

Employers should support contractual clauses with practical measures such as access controls, confidentiality markings, secure systems and effective exit procedures. These steps can help demonstrate that the information has been treated as commercially sensitive.

What our Clients Say

See what our customers have to say about their experience

Review Solicitors Stars
5/5 350+Reviews
Steve Tatham
26/04/2026
Tom Evans provided an excellent service regarding my recent Voluntary Redundancy. Tom was friendly, knowledgeable and helpful in supporting the processing of the legal documentation around redundancy. Tom was very timely and managed our sessions well to ensure we didn’t overrun. I would highly recommend Tom and use him again if I needed legal support.
Ellie
27/10/2026
DTM’s employment department has dealt with a couple of matters on our behalf. They have dealt with all matters efficiently, providing clear advice on employment law, whilst also understanding the commercial aspects of suggested actions.
Mia
15/10/2023
They feel like an extension to our business. They fully understand our business inside and out and are very responsive and provide a huge level of support.

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