The application of non-compete clauses in employment contracts serves as a strategy
to protect trade secrets and maintain competitive advantages, especially for
companies in the information and communication sector. However, in Indonesia,
there are no specific regulations governing these clauses, making their validity
dependent on the legal requirements of employment contracts as stipulated in Article
52 of Law Number 13 of 2003 on Manpower. This creates a dilemma between the
interests of companies in protecting trade secrets and the rights of workers to freely
choose their employment, as guaranteed by labor laws, human rights, and economic,
social, and cultural rights as outlined in Article 6 of the International Covenant on
Economic, Social and Cultural Rights (ICESCR). This study examines the
implementation of non-compete clauses in Sleman Regency, Special Region of
Yogyakarta, through empirical legal research using case studies on four limited
liability companies in the information and communication sector (KBLI 620). The
findings indicate that non-compete clauses cannot be applied to all types of
companies but are specifically relevant to companies that possess trade secrets and
competitors and require a time period for employees to forget confidential systems
and information. Non-compete clauses can serve as a business protection instrument
but must be applied proportionally to avoid violating principles of fairness and
workers’ rights. Therefore, an active monitoring mechanism by the labor department
is necessary to ensure that the applied clauses comply with existing legal provisions