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I've received a job offer from a former client with very nice terms, a decent pay check, just all around a great job with people I know and get along with.
Coupled with the fact that I may not be very suited to my current job (consultancy) as opposed to what they're offering (full time business as usual).

But I've come across a hindrance.
Upon reviewing my paperwork, I noticed that I do not have a specific document I signed.
When I was working for this customer, I had to sign a do-not-compete clause with a different company. To put matters into perspective I'll explain the situation a bit.

  • I am employed at nice small consultancy firm
  • Customer was looking for a consultant that matched my skill-set
  • Bodyshop is a provider of consultants for Customer
  • Nice small consultancy firm outsourced me through bodyshop to Customer
  • I signed a do not compete clause between nice small consultancy firm and bodyshop
  • Customer stopped all contracts with bodyshop because of some bad experiences
  • Customer opened up some job postings for employees to replace the consultants that were let go

Now I never received a copy of this do not compete clause, I signed it, and I think both company's have a copy, but I don't.

How would I go about obtaining a copy?
Am I just utterly screwed if I sign something now?

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I would simply contact whichever company was supposed to provide a copy, and request it again. If they ask why, you don't have to lie: "I wish to retain a copy for my records". It's by no means an unreasonable request or unusual answer.

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  • I ended up doing this, and the response was quite sad. Apparently the person at $Bodyshop who was responsible for the contract was fired for bad practices, and the signed copy never reached my bosses. So as far as I know, the only people who know of its existence are: me, my boss, the person who knows where it is but is now gone.
    – Reaces
    Commented Jun 25, 2015 at 8:01
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    I'm sorry to hear that. Many non-compete contracts are time limited. If you know how long it was for, you may be able to negotiate up-front with your potential boss to let the non-compete expire before moving forward. However, if you budget will stretch to it, as no one seems to have a copy of this document (esp if waiting isn't an option) I would contact a labor lawyer in your area to discuss ramifications and options.
    – Saoirse
    Commented Jun 25, 2015 at 9:54
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Depending on the country and the company policy, you may have access to all documents in your HR file. Rather than specifically asking for this non-compete you may be better off asking for a copy of all of your documents. If HR asks why a "I'm not sure if my copy of my records is complete" is unlikely to raise any flags. The upside of taking this route is that you get copies of everything just in case there is something else missing.

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  • The place I'm employed is quite small, and there is no real company policy surrounding documents. The HR person is at the same time the office manager / assistant and wife to the founder / boss / main consultant. This route won't work for my particular case, however thank you for the suggestion.
    – Reaces
    Commented Jun 25, 2015 at 8:02

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