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Putting someone on ‘garden leave’ means an employee is paid and receives their full contractual benefits during their notice period but is not permitted to attend for work. In these circumstances, the employee continues to be subject to their other contractual obligations ― for example, not competing with the employer and the duty of fidelity. An employee can be placed on garden leave when they resign or when they are dismissed with notice.

In some situations, employees are pleased to be sent on garden leave and no difficulties arise. However, there are circumstances in which garden leave can be a major area of dispute, often because the employee wants to leave work immediately in order to work for a competitor.

An employee may also object to being put on garden leave where this will cause financial loss, cause them to become de-skilled or make it more difficult for them to find a new job. In this situation, there may be a right to work during the notice