You may require your employees to sign a non-compete agreement to prevent them from working with your competitors or using your trade secrets to start a competitive business. However, the enforceability of a Florida non-compete depends on the terms it includes.
Your non-compete should address the following areas and include reasonable restrictions.
Type of industry
A non-compete should only restrict former employees from working for businesses that directly compete with your company. Although it is unnecessary to name specific companies, you should list the industries that provide your competition.
Duration
Your non-compete agreement should restrict how long your former employee must refrain from conducting business in your company’s industry. The average duration for non-competes in Florida is six months to two years. Anything beyond that may be unnecessarily restrictive and could void the agreement.
Geographical range
Your agreement should include a term preventing a former employee from working in your business’s geographic vicinity. However, geographical restrictions may be excessive when they restrict employees from working in another state.
Type of work
Your investment in your employees may include training them in procedures, skills or techniques that give your company a competitive edge. Therefore, it is not unreasonable to include a clause that restricts former employees from transferring proprietary information to a new employer that can use it to gain industry prominence or harm your business.
Consequences for violation
Your valid non-compete agreement should include a remedy for an employee’s violation of its terms. For example, in addition to pursuing an injunction ordering the employee to stop the offense, you may seek monetary damages equal to what the violation costs your business and punitive damages.
A non-compete agreement can protect your Florida business. Still, this contract is most helpful when it applies to specific employees.