New Freelancer, question regarding a non-compete clause Thread poster: Ourea
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Ourea
Austria
Local time: 10:28
German to English
Hi everyone,
I have just started out, so there is still a lot of uncertainty surrounding certain topics. I would be thankful to have your opinion on this matter.
Today I have received my first contract from a company. In the contract it states that during the term of the Agreement and two years following the termination of the contract I am not allowed to solicit, procure, promote, sell directly or indirectly, or entice away (without limitation) with any person, company... See more Hi everyone,
I have just started out, so there is still a lot of uncertainty surrounding certain topics. I would be thankful to have your opinion on this matter.
Today I have received my first contract from a company. In the contract it states that during the term of the Agreement and two years following the termination of the contract I am not allowed to solicit, procure, promote, sell directly or indirectly, or entice away (without limitation) with any person, company, client etc with whom I had been in contact during the performances of services.
Is this common standard and acceptable? Maybe its ok if I limit myself to a certain number of companies while I am working with this company? Still it makes me uncomfortable that whenever I am talking to a new client I would always have to ask whether they are in contact with any of the companies I am not allowed to work for.
Thank you for your time,
Ourea ▲ Collapse
| | | | Liviu-Lee Roth
United States
Local time: 04:28
Romanian to English
+ ...
| Yes, it is standard practice ... | Sep 11, 2021 |
Ourea wrote:
Hi everyone,
I have just started out, so there is still a lot of uncertainty surrounding certain topics. I would be thankful to have your opinion on this matter.
Today I have received my first contract from a company. In the contract it states that during the term of the Agreement and two years following the termination of the contract I am not allowed to solicit, procure, promote, sell directly or indirectly, or entice away (without limitation) with any person, company, client etc with whom I had been in contact during the performances of services.
Is this common standard and acceptable? Maybe its ok if I limit myself to a certain number of companies while I am working with this company? Still it makes me uncomfortable that whenever I am talking to a new client I would always have to ask whether they are in contact with any of the companies I am not allowed to work for.
Thank you for your time,
Ourea
.... but this should not limit you to a few agencies. They just don't want you to "steal" their current clients. In my case, I work with 26 agencies in a certain field, and many of them compete with each-other in the same field. It is none of my business. You are freelance, and nobody can ask you not to work with anybody else.
Good luck,
Lee
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This clause is not unusual, unfortunately. The time period varies from during the term of the agreement to one, two or even three years after the agreement has ceased. Just to show them that, even though you are a newbie, you will not accept blindly everything they send your way ask them as politely as you can for a complete list of their clients so you know which entities not to contact.
| | | | Adieu 
Ukrainian to English
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| Which variety is it? | Sep 11, 2021 |
Anti-poach = do not attempt to form a direct client relationship with
OR
Full prohibition = do not take any jobs from anyone whatsoever in the slightest related to or contracting for said company?
In certain highly monopolized fields, the second variety could be brutal (IF you actually follow it to the letter). For example, a mere half dozen jobs could force you out of whole industries like oil & gas, medical, or consumer goods.
If it's just an... See more Anti-poach = do not attempt to form a direct client relationship with
OR
Full prohibition = do not take any jobs from anyone whatsoever in the slightest related to or contracting for said company?
In certain highly monopolized fields, the second variety could be brutal (IF you actually follow it to the letter). For example, a mere half dozen jobs could force you out of whole industries like oil & gas, medical, or consumer goods.
If it's just anti-poach, doesn't matter at all. Most companies that work with agencies wouldn't suddenly be interested in direct client relationships with a newbie anyway.
[Edited at 2021-09-11 19:30 GMT]
[Edited at 2021-09-11 19:31 GMT] ▲ Collapse
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Kevin Fulton
United States
Local time: 04:28
German to English
| Anti-solicitation clause | Sep 11, 2021 |
Basically such clauses are designed to prevent you from stealing end customers. As Lee has pointed out, if you work for agencies, there is a likelihood that some jobs you get from the various LSPs originate from the same end customer. You need not care about the identity of the end customer.
I might also mention in this regard that the agency is your customer, not the entity engaging the agency. Thus, if you translate a document created by/for Scuderia Ferrari, the agency, not Ferra... See more Basically such clauses are designed to prevent you from stealing end customers. As Lee has pointed out, if you work for agencies, there is a likelihood that some jobs you get from the various LSPs originate from the same end customer. You need not care about the identity of the end customer.
I might also mention in this regard that the agency is your customer, not the entity engaging the agency. Thus, if you translate a document created by/for Scuderia Ferrari, the agency, not Ferrari is your customer. You cannot claim to have Ferrari is your client. Many translators don't realize that. ▲ Collapse
| | | | Ourea
Austria
Local time: 10:28
German to English
TOPIC STARTER | Thank you everyone | Sep 12, 2021 |
I appreciate your comments. Food for thought. Of course, I understand that they do not want me to steal their customers.
However, I am concerned that their gain is my loss. I am particularly apprehensive about this particular sentence: "with any person, company, client, etc with whom the consultant had been in contact DURING the performances of services". Obviously, the longer I work for them the greater the number of potential customers, agencies etc. I will be in touch with, whi... See more I appreciate your comments. Food for thought. Of course, I understand that they do not want me to steal their customers.
However, I am concerned that their gain is my loss. I am particularly apprehensive about this particular sentence: "with any person, company, client, etc with whom the consultant had been in contact DURING the performances of services". Obviously, the longer I work for them the greater the number of potential customers, agencies etc. I will be in touch with, which in turn increases the number of agencies/ customers I won't be able to work with for at least two years following the end of our agreement.
@Adieu: Full prohibition for two years for customers I used to work with during the agreement, but not every single customer who is related to the company. ▲ Collapse
| | | | Tina Vonhof (X)
Canada
Local time: 02:28
Dutch to English
+ ...
For starters, you could try to change 2 years to 1 year and see if they will accept that. But I have never heard, or seen any mention in the forums, of someone who ran into this situation. As long as you don't actively try to steal their clients, you shouldn't have any problems.
| | | | Liviu-Lee Roth
United States
Local time: 04:28
Romanian to English
+ ...
| Let's make it clear | Sep 12, 2021 |
Ourea wrote:
I appreciate your comments. Food for thought. Of course, I understand that they do not want me to steal their customers.
However, I am concerned that their gain is my loss. I am particularly apprehensive about this particular sentence: "with any person, company, client, etc with whom the consultant had been in contact DURING the performances of services". Obviously, the longer I work for them the greater the number of potential customers, agencies etc. I will be in touch with, which in turn increases the number of agencies/ customers I won't be able to work with for at least two years following the end of our agreement.
@Adieu: Full prohibition for two years for customers I used to work with during the agreement, but not every single customer who is related to the company.
I signed similar NDAs about ten years ago for three LSPs (Language Service Provider) that have contracts in a specific field with a governmental agency (like FBI, DOJ, etc). Sometimes, I receive 50% of a project from one LSP and the other 50% from another. All three agencies know that I work with their competitors. No problems so far. It is purely a formality to prevent you from "stealing" their client.
Lee
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achisholm
United Kingdom
Local time: 09:28
Italian to English
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During the contract is obvious, and two years afterwards seems to be a fairly standard time.
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