This essay aim to clear the regulations that adjusts the use of non-compete clauses in contracts of employement. The historical developement shows tendencies that more employees have contracts that includes non-compete clauses. This developement does not always correspond with what is allowed concerning these clauses. Non-compete clauses is adjusted by the regulations in the collective agreement known as the agreement of 1969. The agreement has also been accepted outside its regular field of application. Apart from the just mentioned agreement, unreasonable conditions of contracts kan be adapted to what is fair accordning to the swedish constitution of agreements. The paragraphs in question is the 36 and the 38 §§, that adjusts when you can shift the conditions. The 38 § is more applyable when it comes to conditions about non-compete clauses. The use of non-compete clauses is also regulated by practice in the court of law, the labour court. Many of the regulations are unspecified in their design. It is possible that these unspecified concepts are essential to maintain the possibility of applying the concepts to a larger amount of cases. The metaphysical concepts of the jurisprudence has been criticized several times during the historical developement, for example by the upholders of the positivistic Uppsala school of philosophy (the Scandinavian legal realism). The facts remains that because of its open device of concepts, the jurisprudence becomes dynamic and useable in a lot more contexts.

The Swedish regulation of competition clauses has since 1969 partly been made in a collective agreement from Svenskt Näringsliv ” Överenskommelse angående begränsning av användningsområdet för och innehållet i s.k. konkurrensklausuler i tjänsteavtal”. The collective agreement has had a strong influence on the Swedish market, on the Labour Court and in law. In 2015 Svenskt Näringsliv signed a new agreement ”Avtal om användning av konkurrensklausuler i anställningsavtal.” The new agreement from 2015 brings a broader area of application of competition clauses to employment agreements.   Through the study of law as well as the two collective agreements this paper intends to establish when competition clauses in employment contracts can be used in accordance with 38§ Lag (1915:218) om avtal och andra rättshandlingar på förmögenhetsrättens område (avtalslagen). The paper will also examine if the agreement from 2015 is to be considered reasonable in light of 38§ avtalslagen. The study will be fulfilled with support of the following research questions; To what extent is it possible to use competition clauses according to ”Svenskt Näringslivs avtal om användning av konkurrensklausuler”  and 38§ avtalslagen?    Does the content of ”Svenskt Näringslivs avtal om användning av konkurrensklausuler” fulfill the fairness requirements in 38§ avtalslagen?