Odd Employment Contracts
Discussion
I was chatting to a friend at the weekend who works in a local business, the 'employer' was giving all the staff 'new' contracts to sign.
Currently, it's 0 hours contracts, (hospitality style work), 95% of employees are young 16-24 adults, so to them, contracts aren't really all that important, they'd probably sign anything put in front of them, a lot are using it as second jobs/or whilst home from university in holidays etc.
Anyway, their 'new' contracts has a clause in them (whilst still 0 hour), stating that if they leave the business, they're not allowed to work for any other businesses locally of the same trade (hospitality), for up to 1 year.
Now the reason i believe they've done this is, that they don't seem to treat all their staff that well, so the staff generally tend to leave after a few months & just go & work at a similar establishment up the road, or around the local area.
I fully believe they're trying to 'scare' what staff they have into not leaving, as they have previous for this, however, nobody ever does anything about it.
First off is something like that even legal & secondly, is something like that even enforceable?
It makes no odds to me, as i don't work there. nor do any family or close friends, but it seems like a very odd clause to put into a contract for such a throw-away job type?! (minimum wage / unskilled work).
Currently, it's 0 hours contracts, (hospitality style work), 95% of employees are young 16-24 adults, so to them, contracts aren't really all that important, they'd probably sign anything put in front of them, a lot are using it as second jobs/or whilst home from university in holidays etc.
Anyway, their 'new' contracts has a clause in them (whilst still 0 hour), stating that if they leave the business, they're not allowed to work for any other businesses locally of the same trade (hospitality), for up to 1 year.
Now the reason i believe they've done this is, that they don't seem to treat all their staff that well, so the staff generally tend to leave after a few months & just go & work at a similar establishment up the road, or around the local area.
I fully believe they're trying to 'scare' what staff they have into not leaving, as they have previous for this, however, nobody ever does anything about it.
First off is something like that even legal & secondly, is something like that even enforceable?
It makes no odds to me, as i don't work there. nor do any family or close friends, but it seems like a very odd clause to put into a contract for such a throw-away job type?! (minimum wage / unskilled work).
Without a shadow of a doubt the business uses scare tactics on their employees.
Any of them who have something about them use the jobs as stepping stones until they get better full time work, or just get so sick to the back teeth of the way the business treats them that they leave.
They had a max exodus of their unskilled staff, who in the end went to work for other businesses in the area.
(We're talking waiters/waitresses bar-work etc) on minimum wage.
I totally get protecting your businesses interests but it seemed a little excessive putting this in contracts for such menial jobs.
Thanks for the replies though, my thoughts were pretty much what was cast by the others who commented.
Any of them who have something about them use the jobs as stepping stones until they get better full time work, or just get so sick to the back teeth of the way the business treats them that they leave.
They had a max exodus of their unskilled staff, who in the end went to work for other businesses in the area.
(We're talking waiters/waitresses bar-work etc) on minimum wage.
I totally get protecting your businesses interests but it seemed a little excessive putting this in contracts for such menial jobs.
Thanks for the replies though, my thoughts were pretty much what was cast by the others who commented.
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