Layoffs and exits · 5 min read
What is garden leave, and can I job hunt while I'm on it?
Garden leave means you're still employed and paid but told to stay away from work. What it covers, your rights, and whether you can interview or start a new job.
The short answer
Garden leave is when your employer tells you not to come to work, or contact clients and colleagues, for some or all of your notice period, while still paying your full salary and benefits. You remain an employee until the notice ends, so you're still bound by your contract: you can't start working for someone else or a competitor, and confidentiality still applies. You can usually look for jobs, interview and accept an offer with a start date after your employment ends. Employers use it to keep departing staff away from clients and sensitive information. They can only impose it if your contract allows it, or if you agree.
Key takeaways
- You stay employed, so you get full pay, holiday accrual, pension contributions and benefits.
- You can job hunt and accept an offer, but not start the new job until garden leave ends.
- Your employer needs a garden leave clause in your contract, or your agreement, to impose it.
- Any time on garden leave is often deducted from a post-employment restriction, so ask.
On this pageWhat garden leave is for
What garden leave is for
When someone resigns to join a competitor, or is let go, an employer worries about three things: client relationships walking out of the door, confidential information going with them, and a disgruntled person in the office. Garden leave solves all three by removing you from the business while keeping you on the payroll, so your duties of loyalty and confidentiality still apply. It's most common in finance, law, sales and senior roles with notice periods of one to six months.
What you can and can't do
| Usually fine | Usually not allowed |
|---|---|
| Looking for jobs and interviewing | Starting work for a new employer |
| Accepting an offer with a later start date | Contacting clients or colleagues about work |
| Taking agreed holiday | Accessing company systems unless asked |
| Studying or training | Working on a competing business, even unpaid |
| Updating your CV and LinkedIn | Announcing a new role before you've left |
Can they put you on it without a clause?
In the UK, your contract normally gives you the right to work as well as be paid, especially in roles where skills fade quickly. Without a garden leave clause, sending you home could be a breach of contract, which may free you from post-employment restrictions. In practice, many people agree because full pay for staying home is a good deal. If your contract has no clause and you'd rather leave early, garden leave becomes a negotiation: you might trade an earlier release for agreeing not to approach clients.
Using garden leave well
- Confirm the end date, your pay and benefits, and how they'll contact you, in writing.
- Ask whether time on garden leave counts against any non-compete or non-solicitation period. Courts often expect it to.
- Start your search or plan your next step now. A paid gap is the best time to test a new direction.
- Keep your LinkedIn update vague until your employment ends, then announce the new role.
- If a new employer wants you sooner, ask your current one for early release. It's often granted when they're not a direct competitor.
Illustrative example: three months of paid thinking time
A sales director resigns to join a competitor and is put on three months' garden leave. The new employer agrees a later start. He spends the first month resting and the next two doing short projects in customer success to see whether he'd rather manage accounts than sell, and arrives in the new job knowing which part of the role to push for.
Questions people ask
- Do I get paid on garden leave?
- Yes. You're entitled to your normal salary and contractual benefits, such as pension contributions, health insurance and a company car, for the whole garden leave period. Bonus is less clear-cut: some schemes require you to be in active service, so check the bonus rules in writing.
- Can my employer call me back during garden leave?
- Usually, yes. Most garden leave clauses require you to stay available for handover questions or occasional work. You should answer reasonable requests, and you can't take a long holiday abroad without agreement. Ask how they'd like to contact you and agree it in writing.
- Can I go on holiday during garden leave?
- Holiday still accrues and many employers either let you take it or require you to take it during garden leave. Because you may be asked to stay available, agree any trips with your employer first. A short email saying when you'll be away avoids a dispute later.
- Is garden leave common in the US?
- It's less common than in the UK, but used in finance, tech sales and senior roles, often alongside or instead of a non-compete. In Massachusetts, a non-compete must be supported by garden leave pay of at least 50% of your highest base salary in the previous two years, or other agreed consideration.
Exercises are practice, not evidence of career fit or a qualification. How to read our guides and report a correction.
Sources
- Giving notice and notice periods · Acas
- Handing in your notice · GOV.UK
- Massachusetts Noncompetition Agreement Act (M.G.L. c.149, s.24L) · Commonwealth of Massachusetts
How this page is written
Sources support the factual background, not a guarantee that an exercise predicts career fit. Fictional practice material is labelled. Dates record content updates; no independent expert review is implied. More about OffLadder.