Is an employer responsible for an employees actions ?

[Snacker2000]

Hello

Im after some advice. My employer has had a court summons and is being sued by a company he use to own before giving it away to an ex partner for over £100K. He is being taken to court for setting up a company that seems to be in competition with his old business partner. Apparently there was an agreement signed that said they would not go into competition. He is also being accused of taken customers from the existing business that he use to be a part of and for taking a database.

The question that I'm asking is - the claimant has mentioned me all over the claim as I have technical knowledge where my employer doesn't to set up and run the new company. They have said that I'm not part of the claim, but originally they tried to sue me also. Later down the line before it was registered at the court I was removed from the claim. Can I be held responsible for anything legally as I was only carrying out orders from my employer.

The question is, as I am the employee only carrying out instructions from my employer can be be made liable for anything in anyway?

Thanks for your help

[Amethyst]

Straight answer - No

He sold his business to his ex partner and signed ( it sounds like ) a non compete agreement. That is what he is being sued for breaching. It has nothing to do with you at all and probably the initial communications including you were to try and scare you off working for the new company ( as sounds like he couldn't do it on his own ) which is why your not included as a defendant when it's actually got to court. You haven't signed any agreement with the old company and are 'just' an employee of the new. Obviously that's unless you were hacking into old company customer databases to nick contacts etc but that wld be a different claim.

If he does lose the case you should be prepared for the company to fold though and find alternative employment - his case really depends what the non compete clauses in the sale agreement were, if they were reasonable and if he did breach them ( and did take the old company's customers with him )

Ula might look in and ( hopefully ) confirm tmw.

[Snacker2000]

Hello AMETHYST

Thank you so much for taking the time to reply to me.

I am just an employee and only have an employee contract of employment when I worked for both of them when they had the business together.

he claimant was trying to say I was a defecto director and give direction within the company which I did as a manager but not as a director. I did not sit on any board meetings, I wasn't present at any financial meetings and only got a basic staff wage. Part of the separation agreement was that we would carry on supporting his staff with access to his customers while the separation was in place. Now we are being accused of accessing there network and taking the customers. We did have access to the network as we were supporting the company and we did speak to some of customers who wanted to follow us as we had a personal relationship with them.

I just want sure if I can be made accountable further down the line or as im just an employee carrying out instructions am I covered by my employment and just carrying out orders of my employer.

Thanks

[Amethyst]

Ahhh so you used to work for the old company ? Did you have any non compete terms in your employment terms/contract when you were at the old company ?

[Snacker2000]

Hi AMETHYST

No there was nothing in my contract of employment regarding no compete

[ULA]

Did you have any form of restrictive covenant about what you could do on your leaving your old employer? This would not only be about not competing in terms of business but going to work for another business in the same industry etc. Were there also any clauses about confidential information of the company and it being used once you have left i.e. list of customers details etc?