Contracts of employment - a guide to using the law for union reps (September 2013)

Chapter 5
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Unenforceable (void) terms

Some terms are unenforceable even if they appear as express terms in the employment contract. In particular:

• any term in the employment contract or a collective agreement that breaches the Equality Act 2010 (EA 10) cannot be enforced against the person discriminated against (sections 143 and 145 EA 10);

• any term that tries to limit a person’s freedom to work after the employment has ended will be void in restraint of trade, unless:

• the employer can show they have something legitimate to protect, such as trade secrets or confidential information; and

• the restraint is no more than is reasonable;

• any term purporting to contract out of certain legislation, in particular the Equality Act 2010, the Working Time Regulations (with some exceptions), Part II of the Employment Rights Act 1996 (Protection of Wages) (section 203(1)) and the Trade Union and Labour Relations Consolidation Act (section 288).


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