Employee Confidentiality Agreements

According to the Employment Contracts Act, employees are prohibited from disclosing or using employers’ business secrets during the employment relationship. Unauthorized disclosure and the non-permitted use of business secrets is prohibited by law during the employment relationship and for the following two years. If the business secret is obtained unlawfully, the confidentiality duty remains without a time limit. The protection of technical examples and instructions is unlimited in time. Both the employee and the recipient of the confidential information disclosed by the employee are liable for damages incurred by the employer as a result of breaching a confidentiality obligation, provided that the recipient knew or should have known that the employee acted unlawfully.

A confidentiality agreement may be concluded in connection with the employment relationship. If the employee is in a key position within the employer, or otherwise has access to confidential information, it is advisable to conclude a separate confidentiality agreement or to include a confidentiality clause in the employment contract. This is the case particularly if the intention is to extend confidentiality beyond what is provided by the law.

A company is also commonly required in its contracts to assume responsibility for its employees and experts being subject to a confidentiality obligation.