Restriction On Employment After Termination

[flyboy328]

That´s what it says on my (headhunter)-contract:

The Crew Member will not accept any direct offer or assignment from the Airline as an employee or otherwise to perform crew flight duties with the Airline or with any subsidiary or associated company within one year after the termination of this Agreement.


I want to change my agency, but this would restrict me from doing so!
Has anybody (legal) experience with such a clause in the agency contract?
Any chance to get out of this?

Thank´s a lot for any comments!

flyboy

[acebaxter]

I'm not a lawyer but it looks like it is written to stop you from accepting a position directly with the airline, not another contracting company.

Best of luck

[IRISHPILOT]

This is quite normal in the contract business if the agency sourced you and you knew what you signed up to.

Generally, you can buy yourself out of it, depends on how long you have been with them and how well things are going. - Ask the airline to do it, they will if they really want to keep you.

With my direct contract with airline, I am not even allowed to work as a pilot !! within one year after leaving them, and this is perfectly legal in this EU country!

Obviously there are ways, but don't want to go there...

[Mercenary Pilot]

Sounds like an illegal contract stipulation to me, doubt it would hold any water if you did decide to accept a position. :ok:

[potkettleblack]

Standard stuff in the business world. You go to an agency who places you with one of their clients eg: big airline. The agency gets a cut of your wages/salary etc. After a while you decide you want to be permanent and have more job security (I use that term loosely in the current environment:ok:). The agency built up the relationship with the client and introduced you and is about to lose out on cash. Hence why they have these sorts of clauses. Works in the same way if the airlines accountants one day decide to reduce temporary contract expenses by transferring everyone to permanent.

As stated above you either buy yourself out or get the airline to if you want to go onto a permanent contract.

[avionneta]

just ignore any constraint like that. do what you want

[Mercenary Pilot]

It amazes me what companies/airlines/agencies etc, get away with in the aviation world! You would think as a whole, that pilots would be a bit smarter and have at least some understanding of employment law or rights under European legislation. :ugh:

[despegue]

Don't care about that in your "contract".
Agencies will never go to court over this as most operate in the shadows of legality anyhow.

That is an advice I got from a lawyer specialized in these sort of things.

[Rhodes13]

If I remember properly an agency can't do this to you as its a restriction of trade thus if they were to take it further they would end up with egg on their face. It's illegal to stop you plying your trade if you change jobs or agencies to the same airline.

Simple really tell em to get stuffed.

[merlinxx]

Not enforceable under UK Employment/Contracts of Employment rules.

What would happen is that your name & CV will be flagged to the industry as a NONCOMPLIANT. Word of mouth is a very powerful tool!

Check any and all contracts will an Employment Lawyer before signing. This is standard practice in the US.

[bear11]

It's hardly illegal to expect someone to stick to the contract he signed - this request is for a change of agency working with the same airline, in which case the airline and the current agency will say loud and clear "your problem, you signed it". Restriction of your right to work doesn't include changing agency and working for the same airline! In any case, his contract may be outside the EU, or he may have signed a contract subject to law from outside of the EU. There's no "going to court" involved in this - it is between the agency, airline and contract pilot. By the way, the 12 month period is 6 months too long, sign a contract with the right agency first next time.

[Mercenary Pilot]

What would happen is that your name & CV will be flagged to the industry as a NONCOMPLIANT. Word of mouth is a very powerful tool!

Really, if any pilots believe that they should accept unfair and illegal contracts because they could get "blacklisted" by some silly little man behind a desk who thinks his word of mouth overrides an airlines need for a decent qualified pilot then more fool them, and if that IS the way in which a certain airlines conducts its recruitment then better off not working there anyway.

Believe it or not, there are still plenty of good establishments out there who are more interested in employing decent skilled pilots and not some second-rate brown-noser recommended from the old boy's network. :ok:

[Afinehelmet]

Give the agency the required notice then leave that agency.

Start your old/current job with the company/new agency.

If the old agency get in touch and moan, tell them you'll see them in court.

Trust me, it will never get that far. The money it will cost them to bring a civil case against you will be far more than they could ever recover through any finding against you. It's Simple economics really.

That clause is in your contract because there are many pilots out there who will sign up to such draconian conditions and is designed to "intimidate" you into not leaving that agency to go with another who offer more favourable terms.