Restrictive Covenant - Returning to an old employer

[Guest]

I recently worked as a Finance Director in house for a company until leaving this employment to join a new business (an accountancy practice).*

My former employee didn't directly replace me and instead joined my new firm as a client to keep the relationship that we had built.*

Two months into my new employment and things aren't working out.* I am now looking to leave my role and my old employer have offered me my job back.* However I have a restrictive covenant in my contract that I am worried will prevent me from being able to take my old job back (even though my old employer have expressed that they will leave as a client if I were to leave employment as they only joined to continue the relationship with myself).*

My contract specifies:*

In order to protect the confidential information, trade secrets and business connections of the Company to which you have access as a result of your employment, you covenant with the Company that you shall not:

1. (a) *for 12 months after the termination of your employment, solicit or endeavour to entice away from the Company the business or custom of a Restricted Client with a view to providing services to that Restricted Client in competition with the Company;
   *
2. (b) *for 12 months after the termination of your employment, be involved with the provision of services to (or otherwise have any business dealings with) any Restricted Client in the course of any business concern which is in competition with any Restricted Business

(c) for 6 months after the termination of your employment, be involved in any Capacity with any business concern which is (or intends to be) in competition with any Restricted Business and which is situated within a 10-mile radius of the Company’s premises;

(d) for 12 months after the termination of your employment in the course of any business concern which is in competition with any Restricted Business, employ or engage or otherwise facilitate the employment or engagement of any Restricted Person.
*

1. 15.3 *Each of the restrictions in this clause 15 is intended to be separate and severable. If any of the restrictions shall be held to be void but would be valid if part of their wording were deleted, such restriction shall apply with such deletion as may be necessary to make it valid or effective.

*

[ULA]

This is an odd one, because you are not actually going to another accountancy practice you are going back in-house to work for your older employer. Is you "new employer" more than 10 miles radius from your current employer?

What I would be more interested in is do you have a clause in your contract about not going to work for a Restricted Client?