Is the restrictive covenant reasonable?
In assessing the reasonableness of a restrictive covenant under English law the courts follow a three-stage process. • The court must decide what the covenant means when properly construed. If, having examined the restrictive covenants in the context of the relevant factual matrix, the court concludes that there is an element of ambiguity and that there are two possible constructions of the covenant, one of which would lead to a conclusion that the covenant was in unreasonable restraint of trade and unlawful and the other to the opposite result, the court should adopt the latter construction on the basis that the parties are deemed to have intended their bargain to be lawful and not to offend against the public interest. • The court will consider whether the employers have shown on the evidence that they have legitimate business interests requiring protection in relation to the employee’s employment. In commercial contracts the party seeking to rely on the restrictive covenant will nee
