Infosys served notice over non-compete clause

The government has issued a notice to Infosys Ltd asking it to hold a “joint discussion” on the enforcement of the non-compete clause, which prevents an employee from joining a rival tech firm within six months of quitting Infosys.

“This is with reference to the complaint number from the president, Nascent Information Technology Employees Senate (NITES), against the management of Infosys Ltd in respect of non-compete agreement clause, where employees terminated from employment from Infosys for any reason have been restricted in respect of their future employment,” the labour and employment ministry said in the notice sent to Krish Shankar, group head, human resources, Infosys.

The clause is alleged to be unethical and illegal by the complainant. It is decided to hold a joint discussion on the issue before the chief labour commissioner, ministry of labour and employment on 28 April, the ministry added.

The government’s move follows an appeal by Pune-based labour union to the central labour ministry seeking the removal of Infosys’ non-compete clause. These non-compete clauses are a standard procedure where a list of competing firms are named, joining whom may lead to breach of client confidentiality, said senior executives of Infosys and the IT industry. Livemint