What to do about a relationship clause if a non-competition clause is not a problem?

Questioner

In my contract I have a non-competition clause and a relationship clause. The non-competition clause cannot prevent me from working for certain competitors, since the ones I am not allowed to work for are named. However, my relationship clause states that I am not allowed to contact suppliers of my current employer. These suppliers are not exclusive to my current employer and I am not taking any trade secrets with me. I have now received an offer that would improve my position, but it is important that I am allowed to keep in touch with the suppliers. The same suppliers are used by most competitors in my industry. To what extent could I get into trouble? Below are both clauses from my contract. Non-competition clause 1. The Employee shall throughout the duration of this employment agreement and for a period of 9 months after termination hereof, not be engaged or involved in any manner, directly or indirectly, whether for the account of the Employee or for the account of others, in any enterprise which competes in whole or in part with the Employer, meaning <name>, as well as any of its subsidiaries or affiliated companies nor act as intermediary in whatever manner directly or indirectly. Business relations clause 2. The Employee shall for a period of 12 months after termination of this employment agreement, not contact in any manner clients, business relations, suppliers, customers or other relations of Employer or any of its subsidiaries or affiliated companies in any manner, directly or indirectly, nor persuade these to terminate their relationship with Employer or any of its subsidiaries or affiliated companies.

Lawyer

In principle, a non-competition clause is intended to prevent relationships from being taken along to the current company and/or from leaving the current company as a customer. The clause in your case appears to prohibit all contact with relationships in any form whatsoever. This seems to me to be going too far, as this would also mean that you would not even be allowed to congratulate a relationship (exaggerated example). If the relationships already work together with your new employer and there are no adverse consequences for the current employer, such contact (in the context of executive activities) should normally be possible. You will find some more information about a non-competition clause via the link below; the section about the judge also applies to a relationship clause. https://www.uygulvandam.nl/eerste-hulp-bij-een-concurrentiebeding/ Please feel free to contact me via my profile if you have any questions or require legal assistance.