Our advocacy has paid off: Government announces action on non-competes and notice periods

Since we launched earlier this year, we’ve been pushing the government to ban non-compete clauses. Today, Andy Burnham announced that they will act.

This move is good for business and good for workers. It will help ensure that:

• The UK's most innovative companies can hire the talent they need when they need them, while still protecting their IP

• Employees aren't stuck on the bench for months on end when they move between roles

Last night, the Financial Times was one of the first to break the news. The article highlighted our advocacy on this critical issue and shared insights from our polling of scale-up leaders, which found that 87% see non-compete clauses as a hurdle to hiring.

This win is just the start. We also need the government to commit to a curb on long notice periods and stronger support to speed up hiring. After today's announcement, Minister for Artificial Intelligence, Kanishka Narayan, signalled that this is on the table as well. 

Reacting to the news, our Co-Chair, Stephen Fitzpatrick said: “When you are building a business that matters, days count. You need to move as quickly as possible and have the right people around you. Whether it’s a non-compete or a long notice period, anything that slows down talent puts the UK at a disadvantage.”

Our Executive Director, Eva Barboni added: “For too long, non-compete clauses have held back Britain’s fastest growing firms from hiring, while forcing workers to miss out on job opportunities or spend months without pay. This should be paired with measures to curb long notice periods. Otherwise, employers will reach for the next lever to hold workers hostage in their roles.”