Non-Compete Clauses in Employment Contracts: Validity and Damages
February 20, 2025
We review when non-compete clauses in employment contracts are valid, the remedies available to the employer on breach, and the employee’s protections.
A non-compete agreement limits, for a defined period and geography, an employee’s ability to compete with the employer after the employment relationship ends. Articles 444–447 of the Turkish Code of Obligations form the core statutory framework.
Conditions of validity
For a non-compete to be valid, the employee must have access to sensitive information such as the customer base or trade secrets; the restriction must be reasonably limited in geography, duration (no more than two years) and field of activity; and a proportionate counter-performance must be set out in the contract.
Employer’s rights
On breach the employer may claim a contractual penalty and compensation for actual loss. If the breach is continuing, an injunction may also be sought to stop the activity.
Protection of the employee
Courts treat crushing non-compete clauses as invalid. In particular, the absence of counter-performance, an excessive duration, or an unusually wide geographic scope may each be grounds for invalidity.