Adam Solomon appeared for the successful appellant in the case of Geeks v Watts, which the Court of Appeal said “raises issues of significance about restraint of trade in the context of contracts of employment”.
The case deals with the unusual question of restraints of trade during employment. The case concerned the enforceability of a clawback scheme, whereby the employer, Geeks, sought to reclaim from the employee sums it had paid him during his employment, because he had left its employment. The Court of Appeal held that financial disincentives could amount to restraints of trade, and that the doctrine is not only applicable to post-contractual provisions. In so holding, the Court of Appeal “unpicked” some of the dicta in the recent High Court case of Steel v Spencer Road LLP [2024] ICR 137. Having decided that, the Court of Appeal concluded that the provision was unreasonable and unenforceable.
