{
  "id": 3276654,
  "title": "City leaders weigh employment policy alternatives to non-competes",
  "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/08/25/city-leaders-weigh-employment-policy-alternatives-to-non-competes",
  "topic": "business",
  "section": "Business",
  "published": "2026-08-25T13:56:28.000Z",
  "source": {
    "name": "City AM",
    "slug": "city-am",
    "url": "https://www.cityam.com/city-leaders-weigh-employment-policy-alternatives-to-non-competes/"
  },
  "original_language": "en",
  "account": "City leaders are exploring employment policy alternatives to non-compete agreements, as the Department for Business and Trade (DBT) launched a consultation in 2025 to examine restrictions on such clauses in employment contracts. According to David Palmer, a partner at Addleshaw Goddard, non-compete agreements may become less effective within two years. He suggested that businesses are attempting \"blue sky thinking\" to retain staff. One potential solution is delaying and restructuring staff bonuses, as this could incentivize employees to stay employed longer. Another proposal being considered involves garden leave provisions in employment contracts. These provisions would allow businesses to put employees on leave while still receiving their duties, offering protection against competition. Some industries have already implemented share incentives, which can lock employees into the company for an extended period by restricting access to company shares. Due to upcoming changes in workers' rights, businesses are adapting their employment contracts. The qualifying service period required for an unfair dismissal claim has been reduced to six months, and the cap for unfair dismissal compensation has been eliminated entirely. As a result, HR departments are prioritizing new employees' performance in their initial months on the job, and some firms are proactively managing senior executive exits before the cap removal in January.",
  "summary": "City businesses are expecting non-compete agreements to become less effective, looking instead to alternatives such as deferred bonus payments or share incentive plans to keep employees on board. In 2025, the Department for Business and Trade (DBT) launched a consultation to consider restrictions on non-compete clauses in employment contracts. The consultation closed for feedback in [...]",
  "key_points": [],
  "editors_take": null,
  "illustration": null,
  "coverage": {
    "outlets": 1,
    "also_reported_by": []
  },
  "ai_generated": true,
  "disclaimer": "Summaries, key points and the editor’s take are written by software from other outlets’ reporting and may contain errors — always check the linked original."
}