Ex-Employee Sharing Client Secrets with Competitor: What Can We Do About It?

Hi, what actions can be taken if an ex-employee starts sharing client confidential information with our competitor (new employer)? Thank you.

Firstly, all data of the employees leaving the organization should be checked before or on their last working day. This will help the organization preserve confidential data with them, and hence no sharing or leakage of the data will take place.

Second, there should be a clause mentioned in the relieving letter stating that no information will be shared with any supplier or competitor for a minimum period of 2 years. Failing to comply with this clause will result in the company taking legal action against the departing employee.

If these clauses are not included in the relieving letter and the documents were not reviewed before the employee's departure, the company still retains the right to contact the former employee and issue a warning or take legal action against him or her.

Thanks for the response.

@Ankit - The data consisted of details about the clients, which were shared with the employee as part of the process. Additionally, instead of a relieving letter, a similar clause is mentioned in our Employment Terms & Conditions, which every employee reads and signs when joining. Does this entitle us to take any action? If yes, kindly help me with possible actions that can be taken.

@(Cite Contribution) - Thanks. Valid points; will definitely keep them in mind.

Regards,
Recruiter

Non-disclosure Agreement Validity in India

Non-disclosure agreements are not valid in India. Please read these threads and then decide your course of action:

- https://www.citehr.com/463384-how-st...mpetitors.html - How to stop employees from joining a competitor
- https://www.citehr.com/462590-bond-p...mpetitors.html - Bond prohibiting employees from joining a competitor

There are several more discussions on this topic.

Can you confirm the following:

1. The inclusion of an Intellectual Property Rights (IPR) clause in your standing orders, code of conduct, or appointment letter.

2. That this IPR data is proprietary to your organization, created and maintained by you exclusively, and not available in the open market.

In other words (as cited in Contribution), you cannot expect an employee to leave behind their knowledge and skills when transitioning to a new organization.

If you were not aware, individuals in corporate sales or business development roles often switch organizations based solely on the business accounts they can bring along. Factors like HR culture fit are often overlooked despite efforts to emphasize them.

Consider this as a learning experience and continue forward.

Regards