Garden leave is a period during an employee's notice when they remain employed and fully paid but are instructed to stay away from work, usually to protect confidential information, client relationships, or a competitive advantage before the employee joins another company or a competitor. The employee is not fired and not free to work elsewhere for a competitor. They are simply told, for a defined stretch, not to do the job.
The name comes from the image of an employee spending their notice period tending to their garden instead of coming into the office. This page defines the term, how it typically works in practice, and how it varies across countries — several of which do not recognize the concept the way the UK does. Garden leave sits alongside notice periods and probation periods as one of the terms of ending an employment relationship, and none of it is legal advice for a specific situation.
Last updated August 6, 2026. Jump to: What it is · How it works · Why it matters to employers · How garden leave varies by country · Common mistakes · How Remote& handles it · FAQ
What garden leave is
Garden leave usually shows up at one specific moment: an employee has resigned, or been given notice, and is due to work a notice period before their last day. Instead of having them work through it, the employer places them on garden leave — they stay on the payroll, keep their benefits, and remain bound by their contract, but they do not attend work, do not perform their duties, and do not have access to systems or clients.
A few things distinguish it from other ways a notice period can end:
- The employee remains employed. Garden leave is not termination. The employment contract, including confidentiality and restrictive covenants, stays in force for the duration.
- It is employer-initiated. The employer chooses to place someone on garden leave; it is not something an employee can typically request on their own.
- Pay and benefits continue. The employee is paid as normal and usually keeps benefits, because they are still employed, just not working.
- It requires a contractual basis. In most jurisdictions where the concept applies, the employer needs an express garden leave clause in the contract, or at minimum a clear legal basis, to enforce it.
How garden leave works in practice
A typical garden leave period plays out in a fairly consistent shape:
- Notice is triggered. The employee resigns, or the employer gives notice, starting the clock on the notice period set in the contract or by local law.
- The employer invokes garden leave. Relying on a garden leave clause, the employer tells the employee not to attend work or perform duties for some or all of the remaining notice period.
- Access is withdrawn. Systems access, client contact, and often building access are cut off, since the point is to remove the person from active involvement in the business.
- Restrictions continue to apply. The employee typically cannot start work for a new employer, especially a competitor, while still employed and on garden leave — because they are, on paper, still working for the current employer.
- Employment ends at the notice period's expiry. Once the notice period runs out, employment ends in the normal way, and any post-termination restrictive covenants take over from there, if the contract has them.
Garden leave is distinct from payment in lieu of notice (PILON), where the employer ends employment immediately and pays out the notice period instead of having the employee serve it. Garden leave keeps the person employed through the notice period; PILON ends employment straight away. The two achieve a similar practical outcome — the person is not doing the job — but they have different legal consequences, particularly for when restrictive covenants and benefits stop applying.
Why garden leave matters to employers
Garden leave exists because notice periods create a specific risk: an employee who knows they are leaving, who may be joining a competitor, still has active access to clients, deals, and confidential information during the weeks before they go.
- It protects sensitive information and relationships. Removing access during notice limits what a departing employee can take, learn, or influence on the way out.
- It buys transition time. Because the employee is still technically employed and bound by the contract, garden leave slows down how quickly they can start working for a competitor — often more effectively than a post-termination non-compete, which is harder to enforce in many jurisdictions.
- It keeps the relationship contractual, not adversarial. Because pay and benefits continue, garden leave is generally easier to justify and less likely to be challenged than trying to enforce a broad non-compete after termination.
The tradeoff is cost: the employer keeps paying someone who is not producing work for the length of the garden leave period, which can run to several weeks or months for senior roles with long notice periods.
How garden leave varies by country
Garden leave, under that name, is a UK and Commonwealth-law concept. Many other countries achieve a similar practical outcome through different legal mechanisms, or restrict it more than the UK does. As of 2026, the general position:
| Country | How the concept applies |
|---|---|
| United Kingdom | Garden leave is well established, contract-based, and commonly used for senior and client-facing roles, provided the contract includes a garden leave clause. |
| United States | Garden leave as a named concept is uncommon. Employers more often rely on non-compete or non-solicit clauses instead — but enforceability of non-competes varies sharply by state, and several states, including California, largely ban them for most employees. |
| Australia | Recognized and used similarly to the UK, under a contractual garden leave clause; courts will scrutinize the length as reasonable, similar to how they review restraint-of-trade clauses. |
| Singapore | Common in finance and other client-sensitive sectors, used alongside restrictive covenants, and generally enforceable if the contract supports it. |
| Germany | The closer local mechanism is "Freistellung" (release from duty) — the employer excuses the employee from working while continuing to pay them, achieving a similar effect without necessarily using the English term. |
| France | A "dispense d'exécution du préavis" lets an employer release an employee from actively working their notice while still paying it — again, a similar practical result reached through French employment law rather than a garden leave clause specifically. |
| India | Not a standard feature of Indian employment contracts; notice periods are typically worked or bought out, and post-termination restraints face significant enforceability limits under Indian contract law. |
| Japan | Uncommon as a named practice; Japanese employment law and custom lean toward the employee working through notice, with post-employment restrictive covenants facing their own enforceability limits. |
The takeaway: do not assume a garden leave clause drafted for one country will work, or even be needed, in another. What actually happens during an employee's notice period, and what restricts them afterward, is set by local employment law, not by the wording a template contract happens to use.
Common mistakes with garden leave
- Assuming there is an automatic right to impose it. Without an express garden leave clause, or a clear legal basis in that jurisdiction, an employer generally cannot simply decide to stop someone from working while continuing to hold them to the contract.
- Confusing garden leave with PILON. The two have different legal effects, particularly on when covenants and benefits end — treating them as interchangeable in a contract or a termination letter causes real disputes.
- Copying a UK-style clause into a contract in a country where it does not translate. A garden leave clause written for UK law may not be enforceable, or may not even be the right mechanism, in a country that reaches a similar result differently.
- Ignoring local non-compete limits. Especially in the US, pairing garden leave with a broad non-compete without checking state law can produce a clause that is not enforceable at all.
- Forgetting benefits and pay must continue. Garden leave is not a way to reduce cost during notice — the employee stays fully paid and benefited. Trying to reduce either can turn it into a constructive dismissal claim in several jurisdictions.
How Remote& handles notice periods and leave
Garden leave is a specific contractual mechanism, not a service Remote& provides as a standalone feature — whether it is available, and how it is structured, depends on the employment contract and the local law where the person is employed. What Remote& does provide is the underlying compliance layer that makes getting notice right possible: a locally compliant employment contract for every hire, correct handling of notice periods and final pay under local law, and a single HRIS record of the contract terms, so a company knows exactly what applies before a departure gets complicated.
When an employer of record hire ends, Remote& administers the notice period, any restrictive-covenant terms already in the contract, and the final settlement under local law — the same way we handle severance and notice across the countries we support.
Frequently asked questions
What is garden leave?
Garden leave is a period during an employee's notice when they remain employed and fully paid but are told to stay away from work, usually to limit their access to confidential information, clients, or deals before they leave, especially before joining a competitor. The employee stays bound by their contract and typically cannot start working elsewhere while on garden leave.
Is garden leave paid?
Yes. An employee on garden leave remains fully employed, so they continue to receive their normal salary and, in most cases, their benefits, for as long as the garden leave lasts. Garden leave is not a way to reduce pay during notice — it is a way to stop someone from actively working while still paying them under the existing contract.
What is the difference between garden leave and payment in lieu of notice (PILON)?
Garden leave keeps the employee formally employed through their notice period, continuing pay and benefits, while releasing them from actively working. PILON ends employment immediately, with the employer paying out the value of the notice period instead of having it served. The practical result looks similar — the person is not doing the job — but the legal effect differs, particularly for when restrictive covenants and benefits stop applying.
Is garden leave legal in the United States?
Garden leave as a named, standard practice is uncommon in the US. Employers more often use non-compete or non-solicit clauses to achieve a similar goal, but the enforceability of those clauses varies sharply by state — some states enforce them broadly, while others, including California, largely prohibit non-competes for most employees. A US employer considering a garden-leave-style arrangement should check the specific state's law rather than assume a UK-style clause will transfer directly.
Can an employee work another job during garden leave?
Generally, no, not for a competitor, and often not for anyone. Because the employee remains formally employed and bound by their contract during garden leave, most contracts and jurisdictions treat them as still obligated to the current employer, including any confidentiality and exclusivity terms, until the notice period actually expires.
How long does garden leave typically last?
It matches the length of the notice period set in the employment contract or required by local law, which commonly runs from a few weeks to several months depending on the role, seniority, and country. Senior, client-facing, or competitively sensitive roles tend to have longer notice periods, and therefore the potential for longer garden leave, than junior roles.
Get notice periods and final pay right, everywhere you hire
Remote& handles locally compliant contracts, notice, and final settlement as your employer of record, so departures are administered correctly under each country's law. See how it works, or book a walkthrough.