Discussion
Having been put on gardening leave after being offered a job at a rival company I am now faced with a bit of dilemma.
About a year back the firm I worked for wouldn’t provide me with a company phone as they ‘didn’t have the funds’. I needed a mobile for business as a lot of time I was out on the road.
As a result of this the manager at time had thousands of business cards printed with my personal number on, I told him I wasn’t happy about this but as he had already dished 100s out It was too late to stop the influx of calls I was getting.
My work was the kind of work that took over my personal life so when I was home or the weekends I would just keep the phone off.
Having been put on gardening leave I am getting call after call from customers and im explaining to them that I am no longer with the firm. I haven't told them as yet I am at a rival firm.
As my gardening leave is coming to an end I have been called to a meeting with my previous firm, I’m assuming they are going to try pull me on taking these calls from customers.
Can they do anything as it is my personal phone?
They had business cards printed without my permission with my personal number on?
I haven actually supplied these customers any goods Iv just told them I am no longer with the firm?
About a year back the firm I worked for wouldn’t provide me with a company phone as they ‘didn’t have the funds’. I needed a mobile for business as a lot of time I was out on the road.
As a result of this the manager at time had thousands of business cards printed with my personal number on, I told him I wasn’t happy about this but as he had already dished 100s out It was too late to stop the influx of calls I was getting.
My work was the kind of work that took over my personal life so when I was home or the weekends I would just keep the phone off.
Having been put on gardening leave I am getting call after call from customers and im explaining to them that I am no longer with the firm. I haven't told them as yet I am at a rival firm.
As my gardening leave is coming to an end I have been called to a meeting with my previous firm, I’m assuming they are going to try pull me on taking these calls from customers.
Can they do anything as it is my personal phone?
They had business cards printed without my permission with my personal number on?
I haven actually supplied these customers any goods Iv just told them I am no longer with the firm?
Edited by PPEhero on Thursday 11th February 18:04
My long term plan is obviously keep the phone and use it to help boost business at the new firm.
My contract says not to speak to any customers, but as a lot of these customers have developed into personal friends this isn’t really an option.
Surely if they ring my personal phone I can tell them what I want, it was there mistake sticking my number on stacks of business cards
My contract says not to speak to any customers, but as a lot of these customers have developed into personal friends this isn’t really an option.
Surely if they ring my personal phone I can tell them what I want, it was there mistake sticking my number on stacks of business cards
Who bought the original SIM card with that number on ? YEARS ago. I left a job, where the phone was so last decade, that they said I could keep it, but they'd kill the SIM on my last day, so we agreed I could port my number to my own sim. I wasn't in a sales role, so it kind of made sense, I was dealing with automation suppliers and the like.
PPEhero said:
As my gardening leave is coming to an end I have been called to a meeting with my previous firm, I’m assuming they are going to try pull me on taking these calls from customers.
Can they do anything as it is my personal phone?
Not at all, given it was their stupid idea to force you to use your personal phone.Can they do anything as it is my personal phone?
Out of interest, given that you're at the end of your Gardening Leave AND have a new job secured, what COULD they do to you that would cause hardship?
PPEhero said:
I paid for the phone and pay the contract every month. The bill is over £70 a month mainly made up of business calls/zooms and customer enquiries. I have been paying the bill with zero contribution from the company.
Why are you paying £70/month when you can get unlimited calls/data sims for £16 a month?I'm sure some lawyers will come along with the correct answer, but restrictive covanents are very difficult to enforce. Essentially you would have to actively canvassed these customers and I believe your old employer would have to prove that you enticed the customers to your new employer and they suffered a quantifiable loss.
As the phone is your personal phone, you are quite at liberty to answer calls from anyone who calls you. You can probably also say that you're leaving XYZ and from next month you will be working for ABC. What you can't do is call the customers of XYZ and say you're working for ABC and would they like to start working with ABC now you've started joined them.
They can not avoid paying you becuase you've spoken to old customers. Withholding pay without cause that is already stipulated in your contract is a clear breach of contract.
As the phone is your personal phone, you are quite at liberty to answer calls from anyone who calls you. You can probably also say that you're leaving XYZ and from next month you will be working for ABC. What you can't do is call the customers of XYZ and say you're working for ABC and would they like to start working with ABC now you've started joined them.
They can not avoid paying you becuase you've spoken to old customers. Withholding pay without cause that is already stipulated in your contract is a clear breach of contract.
PPEhero said:
I paid for the phone and pay the contract every month. The bill is over £70 a month mainly made up of business calls/zooms and customer enquiries. I have been paying the bill with zero contribution from the company.
Well, you have to be polite when people ring you on Your Phone, on Your number. What would they have you do? Countdown said:
PPEhero said:
I paid for the phone and pay the contract every month. The bill is over £70 a month mainly made up of business calls/zooms and customer enquiries. I have been paying the bill with zero contribution from the company.
Why are you paying £70/month when you can get unlimited calls/data sims for £16 a month?I know you knew that already but thee you go
I would guess its on a 2 year contract or something
We have an employee on gardening leave. He resigned out of the blue a few weeks ago and it turns out he's agreed to join a competitor.
Once we found this out we placed him on gardening leave and told him not to contact any clients or colleagues (as per his contract). We also reminded him of the restrictions in his contract saying he can't solicit or deal with our clients for 3 months after he leaves.
Yesterday we received two calls from clients saying they'd received an email from his personal email address asking them to call him because he has some 'important news'. When they called him, he aggressively pitched the products from his new employer and told them we were about to go down the pan and clients were leaving left right and centre.
We've asked him to a meeting to find out what's been going on, but is there anything we can do to check his phone to see how many clients he's been speaking to?
Once we found this out we placed him on gardening leave and told him not to contact any clients or colleagues (as per his contract). We also reminded him of the restrictions in his contract saying he can't solicit or deal with our clients for 3 months after he leaves.
Yesterday we received two calls from clients saying they'd received an email from his personal email address asking them to call him because he has some 'important news'. When they called him, he aggressively pitched the products from his new employer and told them we were about to go down the pan and clients were leaving left right and centre.
We've asked him to a meeting to find out what's been going on, but is there anything we can do to check his phone to see how many clients he's been speaking to?
RonaldMcDonaldAteMyCat said:
We have an employee on gardening leave. He resigned out of the blue a few weeks ago and it turns out he's agreed to join a competitor.
Once we found this out we placed him on gardening leave and told him not to contact any clients or colleagues (as per his contract). We also reminded him of the restrictions in his contract saying he can't solicit or deal with our clients for 3 months after he leaves.
Yesterday we received two calls from clients saying they'd received an email from his personal email address asking them to call him because he has some 'important news'. When they called him, he aggressively pitched the products from his new employer and told them we were about to go down the pan and clients were leaving left right and centre.
We've asked him to a meeting to find out what's been going on, but is there anything we can do to check his phone to see how many clients he's been speaking to?
Phone provided by the work or his personal phone?Once we found this out we placed him on gardening leave and told him not to contact any clients or colleagues (as per his contract). We also reminded him of the restrictions in his contract saying he can't solicit or deal with our clients for 3 months after he leaves.
Yesterday we received two calls from clients saying they'd received an email from his personal email address asking them to call him because he has some 'important news'. When they called him, he aggressively pitched the products from his new employer and told them we were about to go down the pan and clients were leaving left right and centre.
We've asked him to a meeting to find out what's been going on, but is there anything we can do to check his phone to see how many clients he's been speaking to?
If the OP is on gardening leave he's still employed by his original employer. If he's been soliciting clients on behalf of his new employer whilst still employed by the original one, he's almost certainly in breach of contract and may have to account for any losses to the old employer/profits for the new one this has caused. His new employer may be responsible for procuring the breach.
If he's used his old employer's confidential information to contact their clients and offer 'better' deals, he may have breached contract and/or tort and find himself on the hook for that.
If he's used databases belonging to the old employer and copied those and/or used them for his own purpose he may have breached database copyright.
If the old employer has sufficient evidence and depending on what that is and the terms of the employment contract, they may be able to get an injunction restraining the OP and orders for disclosure, including the mobile phone and email records of the OP.
If he's used his old employer's confidential information to contact their clients and offer 'better' deals, he may have breached contract and/or tort and find himself on the hook for that.
If he's used databases belonging to the old employer and copied those and/or used them for his own purpose he may have breached database copyright.
If the old employer has sufficient evidence and depending on what that is and the terms of the employment contract, they may be able to get an injunction restraining the OP and orders for disclosure, including the mobile phone and email records of the OP.
It does not mater who supplied the phone. The customers are the customers of the company and should not be approached or spoken to. It will be in your contract. If they call you, clearly you know who it is by the number, do not answer. That is it...
And........
If your new company are encouraging this behaviour, you have made a mistake in joining them. If you are doing this in hope of making it big at the new company, when they find out they should act on this and consider firing you.
And........
If your new company are encouraging this behaviour, you have made a mistake in joining them. If you are doing this in hope of making it big at the new company, when they find out they should act on this and consider firing you.
RonaldMcDonaldAteMyCat said:
We have an employee on gardening leave. He resigned out of the blue a few weeks ago and it turns out he's agreed to join a competitor.
Once we found this out we placed him on gardening leave and told him not to contact any clients or colleagues (as per his contract). We also reminded him of the restrictions in his contract saying he can't solicit or deal with our clients for 3 months after he leaves.
Yesterday we received two calls from clients saying they'd received an email from his personal email address asking them to call him because he has some 'important news'. When they called him, he aggressively pitched the products from his new employer and told them we were about to go down the pan and clients were leaving left right and centre.
We've asked him to a meeting to find out what's been going on, but is there anything we can do to check his phone to see how many clients he's been speaking to?
Is it your phone/ computer/ email? Otherwise, Once we found this out we placed him on gardening leave and told him not to contact any clients or colleagues (as per his contract). We also reminded him of the restrictions in his contract saying he can't solicit or deal with our clients for 3 months after he leaves.
Yesterday we received two calls from clients saying they'd received an email from his personal email address asking them to call him because he has some 'important news'. When they called him, he aggressively pitched the products from his new employer and told them we were about to go down the pan and clients were leaving left right and centre.
We've asked him to a meeting to find out what's been going on, but is there anything we can do to check his phone to see how many clients he's been speaking to?
Probably not.
What you can do is call your key customers under the guise of letting them know their sales contact has changed, and reassure them you aren't going anywhere.
You could raise a discipline issue with your employee on garden leave, and possibly sack them.
If you know the Competition you could let them informally know whats going on. Some won't care, but some will wonder if their new employee may treat them the same way...
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