What is Garden Leave?

Garden or gardening leave is a workplace practice whereby an employee who is leaving an employer, having either resigned, been made redundant or been dismissed, is required to complete a period of notice but not attend the workplace or fulfil their normal duties. Garden leave is typically used to prevent the employee from immediately taking up a position with a commercial rival or starting their own business and may often be used alongside restrictive covenants barring the employee from approaching the employer’s clients/customers or sharing time-sensitive or strategic information with a new employer. While the employee is on garden leave they are still technically employed by the employer, bound by the terms of their employment and may be required to perform job-related tasks. The right to put an employee on garden leave, and any restrictive covenants, will be outlined in their employment contract.