Vertex Law

Applicants Obligations

by Stuart Love

Firms taking on new staff and people looking to change jobs will welcome an interesting court ruling on disclosing confidential information, says Stuart Love, a Dispute Resolution lawyer at Kings Hill based Vertex Law.

A recent case saw the judge consider whether a job applicant is duty bound to their current employer or potential new employer.

The court heard how the interviewee was made aware of commercially sensitive information relating to their present employer’s competition with their potential new employer during the interview process. One aspect of the case centred on whether the applicant was legally bound to pass the information on or if they had a duty to their potential new employer to keep the details confidential.

Stuart Love said: “In this case it was decided that the applicant would be in breach of a duty of confidence to the potential new employer if he provided the information to his current employer. It was held that each case would turn on its own specific facts, including the express terms of the applicant’s current contract of employment. However, the court took the view that an applicant should be free to seek new employment without coming under a duty to inform his existing employer about what he has discovered through the process.

“This decision offers applicants some reassurance that they can fully engage in the recruitment process without running the risk of having to tip off their current employer that he or she is looking to move on.  It also provides a degree of comfort to recruiters that they can be candid about their business with potential staff without placing the applicant in a position where they are obligated to report back to their current employer.”

DISCLAIMER

The material in this article has been written for the purpose of giving a general overview of the law in this area and is not intended to be relied upon as specific advice.

For more on applicants obligations, contact: Stuart Love at Vertex Law on 01732 224000 or stuart.love@vertexlaw.co.uk.