Ordinary workers on less-than-average wages are being told they cannot work in the same industry, the same state or even within Australia under employment contract clauses that the federal government believes are turning the national economy into a version of the Monopoly board game.

In one case revealed in a submission to the government’s review of non-compete clauses, a health worker earning less than $80,000 discovered a clause in their contract that indefinitely barred them from taking a job in the same industry in Australia and New Zealand.

Many workers have been stung by non-compete clauses in their employment contracts. Credit: iStock

A laundromat manager made redundant in a small regional team was presented with a letter claiming she could not work in the same industry in th

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