New Zealand Court assessed Obligations an Employee Owes to its Employer when establishing a Competing Business

The limits of what preparatory steps can lawfully be taken by an employee who intends to leave an employer, and set up his or her own competing business, have been set out in a recent case: Caffe Coffee (NZ) Limited V Sune Farrimond [2016] NZEmpC 65. In this decision, the Court assessed the obligations an employee owes to its employer in such circumstances, such as fidelity and good faith, in addition to any restrictive covenants or restraints of trade that might apply.