The recent High Court case of Octavio Hernandez v Vodafone Ireland Ltd, [2013] IEHC 70 raises interesting issues in respect of the enforceability of non-compete clauses in employment contracts. This case also develops the law on employment injunctions and whether damages are an adequate remedy for an employee.

The plaintiff successfully applied for an interlocutory injunction to prohibit his former employer, Vodafone Ireland Ltd (“Vodafone”), from restraining him commencing his new employment with its competitor, Telefonica Ireland Ltd (“O2”). This case is unusual in that it was brought by a former employee who is the subject of a non-compete clause, rather than his former employer. 

The key issue was a non-compete clause in the plaintiff’s contract of employment with