Guide
Notice period vs garden leave: what changes when you are sent home
Updated
On garden leave the notice period still runs; you are simply paid to stay away. That distinction carries real consequences.
What garden leave is
Garden leave (or gardening leave) means the employee serves the notice period away from the workplace: still employed, on full pay and benefits, still bound by the contract, but not required to attend or, usually, permitted to. Employers use it to keep a departing employee out of the market, away from clients and live information, while the notice period runs down (gov.uk: handing in your notice). A garden leave clause in the contract puts the employer's right to do this beyond argument.
What you can and cannot do on garden leave
- You cannot start another job: you are still employed, and working for a competitor during garden leave breaches the duty of fidelity.
- You remain on full pay and contractual benefits, and holiday continues to accrue to the termination date.
- You can be required to stay contactable and to hand over work, and to stay away from colleagues, clients and premises.
- Your start date elsewhere moves to the end of the notice period; recruiters and new employers expect this and it is the main commercial effect.
Garden leave, working notice and PILON compared
| Feature | Working notice | Garden leave | PILON |
|---|---|---|---|
| Employment continues? | Yes, to end of notice | Yes, to end of notice | No, ends immediately |
| Pay and benefits | Full, as normal | Full, as normal | Lump sum; benefits per clause |
| Holiday accrual | Continues | Continues | Stops at termination |
| Can start a new job | No | No | Yes, subject to covenants |
For employers, garden leave is often safer than PILON where restrictive covenants matter: courts give more weight to restraints backed by a paid garden leave period, and a botched PILON can void covenants entirely. For employees, PILON means the money at once and, sometimes, an earlier start elsewhere.
This is a general summary, not advice on any specific contract. Garden leave and covenant questions turn on exact drafting; have the contract read by an employment solicitor before acting.