Question 1

Are non-compete clauses actually enforceable?

Accepted Answer

Sometimes — but they start from a position of being **void as a restraint of trade**, and are enforceable only where the employer can show they go **no further than reasonably necessary** to protect a legitimate business interest. The burden sits on the employer, which is the opposite of what most people assume.

**The legal starting point.** Courts treat restrictions on someone's ability to earn a living as contrary to public policy and therefore unenforceable **unless justified**. Justification requires:

**A legitimate protectable interest** — trade secrets and confidential information, customer connections, or workforce stability. **Protection from ordinary competition is not a legitimate interest**, and this is where most clauses fail.

**Reasonableness in scope** — duration, geographic area and the range of activity restricted must each be no wider than necessary.

**Reasonableness at the time of signing**, not at the time of enforcement.

**What makes a clause fail:**

**Excessive duration.** For junior roles, anything long is very difficult to justify.

**Unlimited geography**, where the business operates locally.

**Blanket application** of the same clause to everyone regardless of role — a strong indicator that it was not tailored to a real interest.

**Restricting the whole industry** rather than the specific competitive activity.

**Being imposed without consideration** during employment, without something given in return.

**The related clauses, which are easier to enforce** and frequently more useful to an employer: **non-solicitation** of clients, **non-dealing** with clients, **non-poaching** of staff, and confidentiality obligations. A court will more readily uphold a narrow non-solicitation clause than a broad non-compete.

**Severance and blue-pencilling.** Courts can sometimes delete an offending part of a clause, but **cannot rewrite it** to make it reasonable — so an overreaching clause frequently falls entirely, which is why drafting them too aggressively is self-defeating.

**Garden leave** is the practical alternative, keeping someone employed and paid while away from clients.

**Reform has been proposed** in several jurisdictions, including statutory caps on duration. General information, not legal advice.

Question 2

How does business-to-business selling actually work?

Accepted Answer

Through a long, multi-person process in which the decision is rarely made by the person you are talking to — which is why techniques borrowed from consumer selling fail so consistently. What makes it

Question 3

What is the difference between a trade mark, a patent, a design right and copyright?

Accepted Answer

Four separate rights protecting different things, with different registration requirements and durations. Businesses routinely rely on the wrong one. Copyright. Protects original creative expression

Question 4

What should actually be in your terms and conditions?

Accepted Answer

The terms that govern what happens when things go wrong — because when everything goes right, nobody reads them. A contract is a risk allocation document, and the clauses that matter are the ones

Question 5

What policies does a small business actually need?

Accepted Answer

Fewer than consultants suggest and more than most small businesses have — and the useful test is whether a policy answers a question that will otherwise be decided inconsistently, not whether it

Question 6

What does data protection law actually require of a small business?

Accepted Answer

Less bureaucracy than most small businesses fear and more discipline about basic practice than most currently apply. The obligations scale with what you do with personal data, not with your size —

Question 7

What does limited liability actually protect you from?

Accepted Answer

Less than most people assume. A limited company is a separate legal person, so its debts are its own — but there are substantial and routine exceptions, and the ones that matter most are usually

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