Report recommends not progressing legislation to regulate restraints of trade

At a glance

• On 24 May 2024 the Education and Workforce Committee released its report on the Employment Relations (Restraint of Trade) Amendment bill (Bill).
• This Bill, introduced in 2022, seeks to prohibit the use of restraints of trade for low to middle income employees (employees on less than three times the minimum wage), while also introducing payment obligations for the length of a restraint/s.  
• The report broadly recommends that the Bill does not proceed. The report also recommends amendments to the Bill's drafting, including a mandatory notice period if an employer intends to enforce a restraint/s.
• The Bill is yet to have its second reading. However, given the current government's opposition to the Bill, it likely to follow the report's recommendation that the Bill should not proceed.