Moving to direct competitor?

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Soldato
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18 Oct 2002
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I have given my notice in and currently moving to a company in an unrelated field. Now a direct competitor has asked me to come for an interview. I work in small insular industry and there is all sorts of gentleman's agreements about head hunting etc. But now I'm leaving they can make a move. Spoke to them on the phone, I'm a good fit and the package will be much better than the other role.

Is it wrong to chase this up or is it all fair at this point?
 
Loyalty in business is always one way, your loyalty to them....
As long as their is no clause in your contract for joining a competitor within a time frame then go for it.

Good luck and enjoy the pay rise :)
 
It's a gentleman's agreement, not a binding contract you are free to do what you want. Same thing happens where i work, had 4 people in the last 3 months go to a direct competitor. Nothing your old company can do about it. If you enjoy what you do then take the pay rise at the competitor if not then maybe stick with the other company in a different field.
 
The fact the other company have approached you should tell you how seriously these firms take these 'gentleman's agreements' ;)
 
Go for it, they only approached you after you decided to leave so don't see any issue.
 
Just be careful they don't hire you for your inside knowledge then once they've got it find a way to let you go.
 
Happens all the time, where I'm based staff switch between local competitors frequently, even written contracts don't carry much weight because you have a statutory right to earn a living. An employer can't banish you from working for other companies in your industry.
 
I think it is fine, sucks for the recruiter/other unrelated company that thinks they've hired you but presumably they're not offering enough for it to really be worthwhile/attractive to you.

Used to happen a bit at my old firm, we had a non-compete that was supposed to cover clients and competitors and our clients had an agreement not to poach. Though as far as moving to a client was concerned the non compete wasn't really enforceable against individuals and so there were a few instances where people would leave and work a few weeks at some random unrelated company before a client would poach them from there. The agreements with the clients were enforceable so they'd wait until people left before making them an offer. (or they might strongly hint that if someone were to get a job elsewhere then they'd soon be made an offer ;) ). If you'd been there for a while then in some circumstances you could make a deal with management for a client to buy you out and employ you or bring you in as a contractor.

Again it probably sucked for the other random company/recruiter but if they paid enough then they'd not have that issue - instead they pay a % based on what you're currently earning so get burned quite easily if your previously pay, as you explained to them in the interview, was suppressed a bit due to the non-compete.

Em3bbs said:
The fact the other company have approached you should tell you how seriously these firms take these 'gentleman's agreements' ;)
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They've done so after he's quit so they've not necessarily broken any agreements. If they'd poached him directly then that would be another matter.
 
dowie said:
I think it is fine, sucks for the recruiter/other unrelated company that thinks they've hired you but presumably they're not offering enough for it to really be worthwhile/attractive to you.
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That's the bad point. Other offer is a good one and job sounds great. They will train me up in industry standard equipment.

Interview with competitor went OK. Will be 10k ish a year more if comes through but a lot more commute. Work / life balance issues etc so just seeing how it goes at moment.
 
Killerg said:
Loyalty in business is always one way, your loyalty to them....
As long as their is no clause in your contract for joining a competitor within a time frame then go for it.

Good luck and enjoy the pay rise :)
Click to expand...

Totally agree, the loyalty is only ever 1 way.

Do what is right for you and your family that's what matters :D
 
Killerg said:
Loyalty in business is always one way, your loyalty to them....
As long as their is no clause in your contract for joining a competitor within a time frame then go for it.

Good luck and enjoy the pay rise :)
Click to expand...

Our HR consultant told us non-compete clauses don't seem to hold up... Not sure if this is the truth however
 
I've seen it threatened a lot in recruitment but never seen or heard of it being enforced.

Unless taking company secrets or sensitive information...Etc then it can't be enforced in the slightest as it's affecting your ability to earn a living.

Go and check it out if you think it could be a good fit.

Good luck!
 
Just because they have a gentlemans contract does not make you obliged to do anything, just watch your own back and make sure he isn't after something more.
 
Hyburnate said:
Our HR consultant told us non-compete clauses don't seem to hold up... Not sure if this is the truth however
Click to expand...

I think the answer is 'it depends'. A non-compete could potentially be enforced if you were in a sales role, left your current company and then started calling all your clients and trying to bring them across to your new employer. What they can't be used for is to prevent you working in your industry - if you were a consultant and you designed networks, then a non-compete that prevented you from working in a role where you designed networks would be unenforceable, since the alternative is to abandon your career.
 
Well i started a competitor; mostly all good never started a job where i can hit the ground running. Add value from day one.

Got a real ****** reply from the other job I got; but really competitor offer i couldn't resist. Lead engineer and great package.

Hopefully this will continue
 
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