Profibre Products (Pty) Ltd v Govindsami (J1448/18) [2018] ZALCJHB 240 (5 June 2018)

Profibre Products (Pty) Ltd v Govindsami (J1448/18) [2018] ZALCJHB 240 (5 June 2018)

The court found that the respondent was bound by the restraint clause in his original employment contract, which remained effective despite his promotion. The respondent had access to confidential information and customer connections that could be exploited by a competitor. The applicant demonstrated a protectable...

Source-derived case information.

Citation
[2018] ZALCJHB 240
Parties
Applicant: Profibre Products (Pty) Ltd; Respondent: Allen Govindsami
Court
Labour Court Johannesburg
Jurisdiction
South Africa
Judgment Date
5 June 2018
Case Number
J1448/18
Procedural Posture
Urgent Application / Application to Enforce Restraint of Trade and Confidentiality Undertakings
Outcome
Application granted in part; restraint enforced for 18 months from resignation date; confidentiality undertakings enforced; no order as to costs.
Judges
Van Niekerk
Legal Topics
Restraint of Trade, Confidential Information, Enforceability of Contracts, Public Policy, Customer Connections
Labour Law Commercial and Corporate Restraint of Trade Confidential Information Enforceability of Contracts Public Policy Customer Connections

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Parties

Profibre Products (Pty) Ltd

Applicant

Allen Govindsami

Respondent

Procedural Posture

Urgent Application / Application to Enforce Restraint of Trade and Confidentiality Undertakings

Legal Issues

  1. 1 Whether the restraint of trade clause in the respondent's employment contract is enforceable.
  2. 2 Whether the respondent's access to confidential information and customer connections justifies enforcement of the restraint.
  3. 3 Whether the restraint period should be reduced for reasonableness.

Ratio Decidendi

The court found that the respondent was bound by the restraint clause in his original employment contract, which remained effective despite his promotion. The respondent had access to confidential information and customer connections that could be exploited by a competitor. The applicant demonstrated a protectable proprietary interest, and the respondent failed to prove the restraint was unreasonable. However, the court accepted that the information would become outdated within 18 months and pared down the restraint period accordingly. No public policy considerations outweighed enforcement, and the respondent retained the ability to seek employment outside direct competition. Each party...

Court Disposition

Application granted in part; restraint enforced for 18 months from resignation date; confidentiality undertakings enforced; no order as to costs.

Orders

  • The respondent is interdicted and restrained, for a period of 18 months from 6 March 2018, anywhere in the Republic of South Africa, from advising, consulting to, being employed by or having any interest in, any concern that trades in competition with the applicant.
  • The respondent is interdicted and restrained from disclosing to any unauthorised third party any trade secrets or confidential information of the applicant.