HP-Oracle suit highlights UK employment law issues
A courtroom wrangle in the US between computing giants Oracle
and Hewlett Packard (HP) is being monitored closely by employment
law specialists in the UK to see what legal precedent – if any – it
sets.
The suit arose when former HP CEO Mark Hurd was appointed to
Oracle's board shortly after leaving HP amid allegations of
inappropriate conduct. Within a day of his appointment, HP lodged a
lawsuit in California to try to prevent it, arguing that it would
make the disclosure of HP trade secrets inevitable.
Among US states, California is regarded as the one least likely
to interfere in a person's right to change jobs. Many US observers
believe that HP’s action will only succeed if they prove Hurd knows
of trade secrets relating to specific technical know-how – as
opposed to business plans and structures, of which he is, as former
CEO, inevitably aware.
In the UK, however, despite regarding restrictions of an
individual’s employment opportunities as an unlawful restraint of
trade, a court would likely uphold restrictive covenants contained
in an employment contract. This is providing the court is satisfied
that those restrictions are crucial to the reasonable protection of
an employer’s business interests.
The effect of the case in the UK is likely to be an important
legal reminder: UK employers must make sure key employees are
subject to appropriate and legally enforceable contractual
provisions that will limit their competitive activities after
ending their employment.