Employee Non-Solicitation (Non-Poaching) Clause template

£9.99

UK-specific • Editable • Instant download • 12 months' updates

A non-solicitation clause preventing former employees from encouraging colleagues or contractors to leave the business for a specified period after employment ends.

Employee Non-Solicitation (Non-Poaching) Clause template
2026 Reviewed
Specifications
Access 12 months (includes updates)
Length 2 pages • 252 words
Jurisdiction England, Wales and Scotland
Based on UK employment law, ACAS guidance
Last review 21/06/2026
Next review 21/12/2026
Delivery Instant download
Formats .doc · .txt · email

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Employee Non-Solicitation

Purpose

This clause is designed to protect the Company's workforce and business interests by restricting former employees from encouraging colleagues to leave the organisation following the termination of their employment.

Employee Non-Solicitation

The Employee shall not, for a period of [6 | 12] months following the termination of their employment for any reason, whether directly or indirectly, on their own behalf or on behalf of any other person, business or organisation:

a) solicit, entice, encourage or

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What is an employee non-solicitation (non-poaching) clause?

Employee Non-Solicitation (Non-Poaching) Clause template preview

This employee non-solicitation clause helps employers protect workforce stability following the departure of an employee.

It restricts former employees from recruiting, encouraging, or facilitating the departure of colleagues, contractors, and consultants with whom they had significant business contact.

The clause includes a general recruitment advertisement exception and is designed to protect legitimate business interests while remaining reasonable and enforceable under UK employment law.

Example

At Sterling Precision Manufacturing Ltd, a Production Manager resigned to join a competitor after eight years with the business. During his notice period, concerns were raised that he had approached several skilled engineers about joining him at his new employer.

Fortunately, the manager's contract contained a 12-month non-solicitation clause covering employees and contractors with whom he had worked closely during the previous year. Following legal advice, the company reminded the departing employee of his obligations and monitored recruitment activity.

No further approaches were made, and the company avoided the potential loss of multiple key employees. The clause helped preserve operational stability, prevented disruption to production schedules, protected customer delivery commitments, and avoided significant recruitment and training costs that could have exceeded £50,000 had several experienced engineers left simultaneously.

Implementation guidance

Use these best practice actions, recommended timescales and process stages to understand when and how the Employee Non-Solicitation (Non-Poaching) Clause should be used, helping ensure each step is handled consistently and appropriately documented.

Step-by-step action table for managing employee non-solicitation obligations

Step Description Responsibility Timing
1 Include a reasonable non-solicitation clause within the employee's contract of employment. HR / Legal At commencement of employment
2 Review post-termination restrictions when employees move into senior, specialist, or client-facing roles. HR / Management During employment
3 Remind departing employees of their post-termination obligations during resignation or exit meetings. HR / Manager Notice period
4 Monitor any concerns regarding solicitation of employees, contractors, or consultants following departure. HR / Management Up to 12 months after termination
5 Where a breach is suspected, seek legal advice and consider appropriate action, including injunctions or damages where justified. HR / Legal As required
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HR considerations

UK employment law and best practice

This template is designed to support the process, but the document should be used alongside the relevant HR procedure and applied to the circumstances of the individual case.

  • Employment Rights Act 1996 – contractual rights and post-termination obligations
  • Common Law Principles on Restrictive Covenants – reasonableness and enforceability tests
  • Trade Secrets (Enforcement, etc.) Regulations 2018 – protection of confidential business information
  • Competition law principles relating to restraint of trade
  • Relevant UK case law governing post-termination restrictions and legitimate business interests

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Frequently Asked Questions

Can I use this in my small business?

Yes. This template has been designed for organisations of all sizes, including small businesses, charities and growing employers. It follows UK employment law best practice and can be adapted to suit your organisation.

Is it compliant with 2026 UK employment law?

Our templates are developed with UK employment legislation, Acas guidance and HR best practice in mind and are reviewed and updated as relevant requirements change. However, every employment situation is different, so the template should be adapted to the circumstances and checked against the employee's contract and your organisation's procedures before use.

Can I customise it for my organisation?

Yes, we highlight the areas of the document that you need to update with your own details, and where you need to make decisions to suit your situation. This saves you time and ensures that you meet best practice.

Do I get instant access to it?

Yes. Once purchased, you'll be able to download it instantly. Templates are provided in editable format (such as .doc or .xls) so you can customise them easily, and in PDF format for easy sharing.

What if I need more help, not just this template?

If you're looking for broader support, we also offer toolkits and library bundles that include the Employee Non-Solicitation (Non-Poaching) Clause template, along with other HR templates and policies for fully managing your situation. These may be more cost-effective if you need deeper advice.

Why should I use this Employee Non-Solicitation (Non-Poaching) Clause template, and not AI to generate it?

AI can produce a document quickly, but effective HR documentation needs to be more than well-written words. It needs to reflect relevant UK employment law, HR best practice, practical considerations and the circumstances in which it will be used. These resources have been professionally developed around that wider HR context, drawing on extensive practical experience, rather than simply generating a generic document from a prompt.

How this content is developed and reviewed

The Employee Non-Solicitation (Non-Poaching) Clause template is developed using a practical HR methodology that considers current UK employment legislation, ACAS guidance, CIPD good practice and the real-world HR process it supports. Templates are regularly reviewed and updated, with additional reviews triggered by significant changes to legislation, guidance or established HR practice, helping ensure each document remains practical, relevant and suitable for UK employers.

About the author

Darryl Horn, Chartered HR Director

Darryl is a Chartered HR professional with over 25 years' experience in senior HR and employee relations roles.

He has extensive practical experience of managing terms and conditions processes and founded hrdocbox to provide businesses with practical, professionally developed HR resources grounded in UK employment law and best practice.

HRDocBox has been creating practical UK HR documents since 2009.

Executive recommendation

"Darryl provides support and advice with excellent judgement, and has a strong understanding of people, policies and UK employment legislation."

"He is someone I trust; consistent, dependable, and committed to doing things properly."

RB
Ruth Brock Chief Executive Officer The Hygiene Bank
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