- The Labour Court imposed a one-year restraint of trade on a former depot manager.
- The judge found that the employer had genuine interests to protect in its confidential information and customer relationships.
- The court reduced the nationwide restraint to cover only Limpopo and Botswana before enforcing it.
A former depot manager who helped grow a funeral products business over almost two decades has been barred from working for a rival casket business in Limpopo and Botswana for one year, after the Labour Court found he breached his restraint of trade agreement.
The Labour Court in Johannesburg ruled that GNG Marketing and Distribution CC was entitled to enforce a restraint of trade against its former Polokwane depot manager, Frederik Pieter Jeremia de Beer. The court found that De Beer became involved in the competing business DB Caskets and Domes (Pty) Ltd shortly after retiring.
The court said GNG Marketing had demonstrated real and protectable interests in both its confidential information and its customer relationships. It found that De Beer's actions posed an unreasonable risk to the business.
The court dismissed the application against GNG Pine Products CC, finding it no longer had the legal right to enforce the restraint after the business transferred to GNG Marketing in 2013 under section 197 of the Labour Relations Act.
Former manager connected to rival business
De Beer joined the business in 2008 as depot and sales manager in Polokwane. He was responsible for managing branch operations, handling customer relationships, overseeing finances, controlling stock and reporting.
When De Beer started managing the depot, it served just six customers. By the time he retired in February 2026, the customer base had grown to about 460 active customers.
As part of his job, De Beer signed a restraint of trade agreement that barred him, for two years after leaving, from making or selling coffins, caskets or domes anywhere in South Africa, from soliciting customers, or from sharing confidential information.
The court heard that after De Beer announced his retirement, his sons registered DB Caskets, a business run from his home address, selling the same products in the same region as GNG Marketing. Although De Beer denied involvement in the business, the court found ample evidence to the contrary.
The judgment noted that the company’s website claimed “over 18 years of experience in the funeral industry,” experience that could only refer to De Beer. The court also looked at photographs of De Beer working at DB Caskets’ exhibition stand during a funeral industry expo and talking to customers.
Confidential information and customer connections
One of the key issues was confidential business information. The employer discovered that shortly after hearing about his retirement, De Beer emailed himself a spreadsheet with years of financial and customer data, then deleted the email from his sent and deleted folders.
The court found De Beer’s explanation unconvincing. Judge Snyman said the information would clearly be valuable to a new competitor. The judge also found that De Beer’s long-standing relationships with funeral industry customers were valuable assets for his employer.
The judgment said, “De Beer has run the Polokwane Depot since the beginning. Over the past 18 years, he has built close working relationships with all customers and was directly involved in expanding the customer base.”
The court added that letting De Beer work for a direct competitor created an unreasonable commercial risk for GNG Marketing.
Restraint reduced before enforcement
Although the court found the restraint valid, it ruled that the initial scope was too broad. The court limited the restriction to Limpopo and Botswana because those were the only areas where De Beer had actually worked during his employment.
The court also reduced the two-year restraint period to one year. Judge Snyman said, “I believe that a two-year restraint period would be too long and unreasonable in this case, and that one year would be reasonable and fair.”
The court concluded that one year would be enough time for customer relationships to stabilise and for confidential business information to lose its value.
Urgency of the application justified
The court also rejected De Beer’s argument that the case wasn’t urgent. Although there was some delay before legal action started, the judge found that the employer first tried to resolve things through letters of demand before going to court.
The judgment noted that restraint of trade matters are naturally urgent and that GNG Marketing had acted within a reasonable time.
Costs awarded
The court ordered De Beer to pay GNG Marketing’s legal costs. Judge Snyman found that several of De Beer’s explanations were unconvincing and that some arguments made during the case unnecessarily dragged out the proceedings.
The court interdicted De Beer until 27 February 2027 from taking part in the manufacture or sale of coffins, caskets or domes in Limpopo and Botswana, from approaching GNG Marketing’s customers, or from sharing its confidential information.
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