Obligations and contract law

What is a non-competition clause? "I've been unhappy with my job for some time now. A new opportunity has arisen that I'd like to take up. It's the same job in a similar company. I've built up my client portfolio myself, thanks to both my professional and personal qualities, even though I'm aware that...

Can I return online purchases? "I've bought several Christmas presents on the Internet, particularly on Swiss and French sites. I'm currently waiting to receive them and I'm wondering whether I'll be able to return them if the people I'm going to give them to don't like them...

Can I lose my job if I take part in a strike? I read with interest your recent column on the criteria for a strike to be considered legal. I've always been reluctant to take part in marches organised by my union for fear of being sacked: what exactly am I risking? C. Geneva You have to distinguish between...

The statute of limitations: what does it mean? "I sometimes read in the press that a case has lapsed due to prescription. What is meant by prescription? Why, how and when does it begin? How long does it take to take effect? Is it from the time of a judgment or from the time when the case was referred to the authorities or the authorities became aware of it?

First appointment free... " With a view to opening my own medical practice, I approached a trust agent who had issued a voucher for a free initial consultation. Over the phone and at the start of the interview, the agent confirmed that the first appointment would be free of charge, but that subsequent appointments would have to be paid for. In the end, the project came to nothing...

Power to bind a third party on one's own behalf "I do the accounts for a hairdressing salon owned by a friend of mine on a sole trader basis. I received a form from a company that publishes telephone directories asking me to check and complete the address details. I read the form diagonally, thinking that it was...

Can a purchase always be returned? "Is it true that a product sold in a shop as a promotion cannot necessarily be returned? A friend of mine was tempted by two small tubes of eyelid-smoothing beauty products sold in action for CHF 380 (with a free beauty treatment). Realising that she'd made a...

Can you use up your sick pay? As an electrician by trade, I find myself without pay after 2 months of sickness because my employer has stopped paying me on the grounds that, according to him, I have used up my "credit" of sick pay. Does he have the right to do this while I'm still sick? A,...

The price on the Internet was not the right one " I'm in the same situation with a watch I bought on the Internet as the one you described on 9 October: apparently the price indicated by the seller was much lower than the one he intended to indicate, and he has contacted me to get the item back or to have it...