when and when not to use garden leave
there are times to consider a garden leave and there are times it is not suitable a garden leave is to be used when a worker s employment term is being brought to an end for any reason the first step in evaluating whether to use a garden leave is to consider the implications of the employee s departure questions to ask include due to the expense of carrying an important employee that is not working companies should be mindful when imposing a garden leave in addition companies may find themselves legally unable to impose a garden leave therefore when determining whether or not to place an employee on a garden leave a company must analyze the financial implications legal restrictions and business usefulness of temporarily retaining the employee rights and obligationsan employee is entitled to their salary and benefits during garden leave but depending on their employment contract may not be eligible for bonuses or accrual payments during a garden leave it is typical for an employee to be prevented from accessing the employer s data and computer system and to be prohibited from contacting clients suppliers or fellow employees the employee will usually be required to return company property such as laptops smartphones or vehicles during this period while on garden leave the employee is required to be available if the employer requires information support or even to resume working for this reason an employee should not plan to travel during garden leave unless approved by the current employer an employer may also compel the employee to take any accrued holiday time during the period of garden leave garden leave is also commonly referred to as a garden leave period or gardening leave garden leave clausesan employer does not need to put a garden leave clause in a contract during the on boarding process when a new employee is hired but they are recommended in certain cases some contracts especially those for senior management and other executives often come with a well drafted garden leave clause if a company decides to put the leave in effect without one it opens itself up to a breach of contract dispute signing a contractual clause may be problematic in some cases employees who don t receive a regular salary and work on a bonus or commission basis may be able to dispute a clause since their incentive is based on their work activities these cases may result in disputes even lawsuits between both parties pros and cons of garden leavethere s a number of reasons why a company may consider implementing a garden leave it is ultimately a defensive mechanism that makes sure an employee is still available during a transition period it can also be used to manage the goodwill and relationships with clients as an employee departures during a garden leave the departing employee often has restricted physical access to the building files or confidential company information this protects a company if it is concerned about illicit use of this information as an employee leaves the downside to this is primarily the cost an employer must continue to pay an employee during garden leave if that worker is a c suite executive the company is paying very high salary costs to retain someone who is producing little to no work there are also legal considerations to balance public perception to manage and ongoing risk of employee retaliation even when still under contract ensures that an employee will be available for queries prior to their departureprevents a customer from stealing customers prior to their departureensures proper transition of responsibilitiesprevents an outgoing employee access to certain sensitive aspects of a companymay prevent an employee from leaving to work for a competitor