Employee has started own business to compete with mine

Q: An employee has started a company similar to mine, while still employed by me. I tried to get the employee to engage in an investigation meeting by telephone but she refused. It states in the contract that what the employee has done is gross misconduct. What should I do?

A: Make one further attempt to get the employee to come into an investigation meeting, and warn her that she will not be able to offer any sort of defence if she does not turn up. You then need to send her a letter of invitation to the disciplinary hearing, whether you hear from her or not. There are no restrictive covenants, so you cannot take any action with regards to her setting up her own business in competition with yours. You may need to suspend the employee before she is next scheduled to work.