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View the related practice notes about Purposive approach

Construing post-termination restrictions

The construction, or interpretation, of post-termination restrictions essentially follows the same rules of construction as are used in interpreting any other type of contractual term.The starting position is that a restriction in restraint of trade is generally unlawful and a post-termination restriction will only be reasonable, and lawful, if it does no more than the minimum necessary to protect an employer's legitimate business interests (see Practice Notes: Restraint of trade in employment and Legitimate business interest). This means that restrictions should be drafted by reference to the employer’s specific business and the employee’s role in that business, and in the clearest possible language.Two other general points apply:•as far as possible a common sense approach should be taken to issues of construction, see in particular Ordinary meaning, below•relying on support from case law for the construction of a particular clause or a specific word is unwise, given that each word in a contract will be construed in the context of that contract, which will almost certainly be different from the one...

Methods of statutory interpretation

Introduction to statutory interpretationThe aim of statutory interpretation is to arrive at the legal meaning of legislation, or in other words, the meaning that conveys the legislative intention. The primary indication of legislative intention is the legislative text, read in context and having regard to its purpose. The court should aim to give effect to the purpose of legislation by interpreting its language, so far as possible, in a way which best gives effect to that purpose. In other words, the courts’ basic approach to interpretation is purposive, and every enactment is to be given a purposive construction.There is a presumption that the grammatical meaning of an enactment is the meaning intended by the legislator. Where an enactment is capable of only one meaning and other interpretative principles or factors do not raise any real doubt as to that meaning, the enactment is to be given its plain meaning. In this case, the plain meaning will align with the legislative purpose.But where there is doubt about the meaning of legislation...