Non-⁠compete clause and notice: what can you do after you leave?

Deciding to set up on your own feels like a liberation. And then you read your employment contract one more time. Somewhere near the end there’s a non-⁠compete clause, and suddenly you wonder whether you’re still allowed to call your clients.

Let’s be honest: this is where people make mistakes that cost them money and their reputation. The good news is that the rules are clearer than you think. One thing first: this is general information, not legal advice. Every contract is different, so have yours checked before you resign.

Your notice: how it works

If you resign, you give notice. How long it lasts depends on how long you’ve been employed: from one week in your first months to thirteen weeks at most once you have eight years’ service. If you’ve been employed for five years, it’s nine weeks. The full table is further down.

You give your notice in writing, stating the start date and the length. You can do that by registered letter, through a bailiff or by handing a letter to your employer. Your notice starts to run on the Monday after the week in which you gave it. If you want to leave sooner, you can agree a different end date with your employer by mutual consent.

During your notice, you’re still an employee, and you stay loyal to your employer. Preparing is fine: running the numbers, getting your BV (private limited company) ready, sorting out your insurance. Competing isn’t: as long as your contract runs, you don’t work for your own clients.

The non-⁠compete clause: valid or not?

A non-⁠compete clause bars you from doing the same work for a while after you leave, for yourself or for a competitor. It’s only valid if it meets every condition. If even one is missing, the whole clause is void.

• It’s in writing, in your contract or in a later annex.
• It covers similar work, not everything you could do.
• It’s limited to the area where you could really compete with your employer, and never wider than Belgium.
• It lasts twelve months at most after your contract ends.
• You get compensation for it: at least half your gross salary for the length of the clause. For twelve months, that’s six months’ pay, in one go.

On top of that, everything depends on your salary. In 2026, these thresholds apply:

• €44,447 or less a year: the clause doesn’t apply.
• Between €44,447 and €88,895: the clause only applies to roles that a collective labour agreement explicitly names.
• More than €88,895: the clause can apply, except for roles that a collective agreement excludes.

Note: by annual salary, the law means more than your monthly salary times twelve. Your holiday pay, your end-⁠of-⁠year bonus and your commission count too. Lotte, the recruiter from How much does an independent recruiter earn?, earns €3,000 gross a month and around €18,000 in commission. All in, she’s at around €60,000, in the middle band. If no collective agreement names her role, her clause doesn’t apply. What counts is your salary at the moment your contract ends.

When the clause kicks in

Even a valid clause doesn’t always kick in. It has no effect if your contract ends in your first six months. After that, it has no effect if your employer dismisses you without serious cause. If you resign, it does kick in.

Your employer can also waive the clause, within fifteen days of your contract ending. Then you’re free and you get no compensation. If they don’t waive it, they pay you the compensation and you stick to the clause.

If you breach a valid clause, you pay back the compensation plus the same amount again. A judge can raise or lower that amount. If your clause isn’t valid, only you can rely on that.

The non-⁠solicitation clause

In our trade, your contract often contains something else too: a non-⁠solicitation clause. In it, you promise not to approach your employer’s clients for a while after you leave, or their candidates or your colleagues.

A clause like that isn’t laid down in law, so the conditions for a non-⁠compete clause don’t automatically apply to it. It does have to be clear and reasonable: which clients, for how long. If it’s drafted too broadly, it risks being void. Whether yours holds up depends entirely on how it’s written. Here too: have it checked.

Without a clause: compete, but not unfairly

If you have no valid clause, you can compete with your former employer after you leave. You can use your experience and your knowledge of the trade, and in principle you can also approach clients you used to work with. The Ghent Court of Appeal confirmed that as recently as 2024.

What you can’t do is compete unfairly. For example, creating confusion about who you are, misleading clients, encouraging someone to break their contract or using your former employer’s confidential information. Any trade secrets you learned at your employer, you keep to yourself, even after you leave.

What you never take with you

Your experience and what you know go with you. What’s in your employer’s systems doesn’t: their client lists, their CVs, their notes and their proposals.

Using a copied client list to approach clients is unfair competition and a breach of trade secrets. That’s what the Ghent Court of Appeal ruled in 2021, and it simply drew the evidence from the pattern of clients who suddenly switched. With CVs and candidate data, GDPR comes on top: that’s personal data your employer manages, not you.

How to make the move

1. Read your contract. Look for a non-⁠compete clause and a non-⁠solicitation clause, and check whether you’re allowed to do anything else while your contract runs.
2. Work out your salary. Add up your gross salary, holiday pay, end-⁠of-⁠year bonus and commission, and compare the total with the thresholds of €44,447 and €88,895.
3. Have it checked if you’re unsure, before you resign. That costs you less than a mistake.
4. Hand in your notice in writing, with the start date and the length, and choose your timing.
5. Leave cleanly. Hand over your files properly, take nothing with you and stay loyal until your last day.

Let’s not be naive about it

Ours is a small trade. Clients, candidates and recruiters talk to each other. Anyone who leaves after a row or with a copied list pays for it not just in court, but above all with their reputation.

And there’s no need for it either. A client who follows you because you do good work is the best start you can have. If you build that, you don’t need a stolen list.

Your notice period at a glance

This is how long your notice is if you resign:

If your contract started on or after 1 August 2026, your notice in your first six months is one week.

Frequently asked questions

Does my non-⁠compete clause apply if my employer dismisses me?

No, if you’ve been employed for more than six months and your employer dismisses you without serious cause. In your first six months, it never applies.

What if my employer doesn’t waive the clause?

Then they pay you the compensation, at least half your gross salary for the length of the clause, and you stick to it.

Can I start working as an independent during my notice?

Preparing is fine, competing isn’t. As long as your contract runs, you don’t take on assignments from clients and you don’t put forward candidates in your own name. Also check whether your contract bars you from doing anything else on the side.

Can I shorten my notice?

By mutual agreement with your employer, you can set a different end date. If you stop earlier without an agreement, you owe your employer compensation for the rest of your notice.

This is general information, not legal advice. Have your own contract checked before you make any decisions.

You’ll find all the steps in one place in our guide Becoming an independent recruiter in Belgium.

Still unsure about the move itself? Read When is the right time to go independent?, or have a chat with me about it via Join us.

Sources

• The non-⁠compete clause, the conditions and the 2026 salary thresholds: FPS Employment, the non-⁠compete clause (in Dutch).
• What counts towards your annual salary: Partena Professional, salary thresholds 2026 (in Dutch). The salary threshold is assessed when the clause comes into play: Securex (in Dutch). Who can rely on a void clause: Securex (in Dutch).
• Giving notice and when it starts: FPS Employment, termination with notice (in Dutch). The notice periods: Securex (in Dutch).
• The non-⁠solicitation clause: Osborne Clarke.
• Approaching clients and staff after you leave: Stibbe, Ghent Court of Appeal 2024 (in Dutch). A copied client list: Stibbe, Ghent Court of Appeal 2021 (in Dutch).