Konkurrenzverbot · prohibition of competition
A non-compete clause restricts the employee's activity after the employment ends. Swiss law requires it to be in writing and appropriately restricted with regard to place, time and scope. The Code of Obligations calls it a prohibition of competition; non-compete clause is contract usage, not the statutory term.
Request a demoThe term in four languages
- German
- Konkurrenzverbot
- French
- prohibition de faire concurrence
- Italian
- divieto di concorrenza
- English
- prohibition of competition
Definition
A prohibition of competition is a written undertaking by which an employee with capacity to act agrees to refrain from competing with the employer after the employment contract has ended. It is binding only where the employment gives the employee knowledge of the employer's clientele or of manufacturing and trade secrets. The use of that knowledge must also be capable of causing the employer substantial harm. The court may restrict an excessive prohibition.
Swiss federal acts are published in German, French and Italian, and all three versions are equally authoritative. The English term shown here comes from the Federal Administration's English translation, published on Fedlex for information only. Where there is no translation, it follows common usage.
Full glossaryThe term in an official text
powered by Neur.onDas Konkurrenzverbot ist nur verbindlich, wenn das Arbeitsverhältnis dem Arbeitnehmer Einblick in den Kundenkreis oder in Fabrikations- und Geschäftsgeheimnisse gewährt und die Verwendung dieser Kenntnisse den Arbeitgeber erheblich schädigen könnte.
The prohibition of competition is binding only where the employment relationship allows the employee to have knowledge of the employer’s clientele or manufacturing and trade secrets and where the use of such knowledge might cause the employer substantial harm.
Source: Fedlex, Code of Obligations. In Corrext, this segment and the ones around it appear in Fast lookup CHnell, each with its reference.