Garden leave

What is Garden leave?

Garden leave is a period, usually during a notice period, when an employee is told to stay away from work while still employed and paid, keeping them out of the business but not yet free to join a competitor.

It is common for departing staff with access to clients or sensitive information. They stay on the payroll and bound by their contract - so they cannot start a new job yet - but they do not come in or do their normal work. The term is British; the same mechanism exists under other names elsewhere.

For HR the record needs to show the person as employed but not active, with an end date, so payroll, access, and the org view all stay correct until they formally leave. It is an employment-status and offboarding detail more than a leave-balance one.

Related terms

• Probation period
• Offboarding
• Employment status (employment type)
• Unpaid leave

See also

• HREvio vs Personio