Jennifer Mills: Employment specialist on the OECD study raising concerns about the number of jobs covered by restraints of trade

There's concern around restraint of trades being cut and pasted across all levels of the workforce. 

A new OECD study reveals 43% of the country's employees are covered by them – more than the 14 other countries surveyed.  

The study notes it's fair for companies to require employees to wait some time before starting work for competitors, but notes some could be going overboard with prohibitive clauses. 

Employment specialist Jennifer Mills told Mike Hosking most restraints are all the same, and an employer may need to ask the authority to vary the restraint to ensure it's reasonable to uphold. 

But she also believes most Kiwis are pretty savvy when it comes to restraints – most cases are negotiated, and people will often approach their employer directly to find a satisfactory outcome.  

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