Garden Leave Calculator UK 2025 — Pay, Post-Termination Restrictions & Your Rights
Garden leave is a period during your contractual notice where you are paid but instructed not to come to work and not to perform your duties. It is commonly used to protect an employer's business interests during a senior employee's notice period. This calculator works out your garden leave pay and helps you understand what restrictions are enforceable.
You must receive full contractual pay during garden leave — your employer cannot reduce it. Post-termination restrictions are enforceable only if reasonable in scope and duration. Courts regularly strike down overly wide or long non-competes. Always take specialist employment law advice before joining a new employer if you have post-termination restrictions.
What Is Garden Leave and When Is It Used?
Garden leave (sometimes written as "gardening leave") is a common mechanism used by employers — particularly for senior employees, salespeople, and those with access to confidential information or client relationships. When notice is given (by either party), the employer instructs the employee to stay away from the office, stop performing their duties, and have no contact with clients or colleagues — while continuing to pay them in full.
The name reportedly originates from the idea that employees on such leave have nothing to do but tend their garden. From the employer's perspective, garden leave serves several important purposes: it prevents the employee from using their position to hand off clients to a new employer; it allows the employer to transition the employee's responsibilities; it ensures confidential information is protected during the notice period; and it keeps the employee bound by their employment contract (including confidentiality obligations) for the duration.
What Must Your Employer Pay During Garden Leave?
Garden leave is a period of employment — the employment contract continues in full force. This means your employer must continue to pay all contractual entitlements:
- Full salary at your normal rate — not reduced, not pro-rated
- Pension contributions — employer auto-enrolment and any additional contributions
- Company car or car allowance
- Private health insurance, life insurance, income protection
- Holiday entitlement continues to accrue — your employer can require you to take holiday during garden leave
- Bonus — if a contractual bonus falls due during garden leave, it must be paid (discretionary bonuses are more complex)
Any attempt by your employer to reduce your pay or remove benefits during garden leave is likely a breach of contract. Depending on the severity, this could amount to a repudiatory breach — allowing you to treat the contract as terminated and potentially claim constructive dismissal.
Post-Termination Restrictions (Non-Competes)
Post-termination restrictions are contractual clauses that restrict what you can do after your employment ends. Common types include:
| Restriction type | What it prevents | Typical enforced duration |
|---|---|---|
| Non-compete | Joining a competitor or setting up a competing business | 3–12 months (senior roles) |
| Non-solicitation (clients) | Approaching former clients to win their business | 6–12 months |
| Non-dealing (clients) | Doing business with former clients even if they approach you | 6–12 months |
| Non-poaching (staff) | Recruiting former colleagues | 6–12 months |
For a restriction to be enforceable, it must: protect a legitimate business interest (client connections, confidential information, or a stable workforce); go no further than reasonably necessary to protect that interest; be reasonable in geographic scope; and be reasonable in duration. Courts will not rewrite an unreasonably wide restriction — they will simply strike it out entirely. This means that overly ambitious restrictions give no protection at all.
Garden Leave vs Payment in Lieu of Notice (PILON)
These are fundamentally different mechanisms with different consequences. During garden leave, employment continues — restrictions run from the end of the notice period, and the employee accrues holiday and pension. Under PILON, employment terminates immediately with a lump sum instead of working notice. PILON is always taxable as earnings. Post-termination restrictions typically run from the date of PILON, not the end of the notice period — meaning they may expire earlier than under garden leave, which is advantageous for the employee.
Frequently Asked Questions
No — you remain employed during garden leave and your duties of good faith and fidelity continue. Working for a competitor during garden leave (even if you are not coming in to your employer's office) is likely a serious breach of contract. However, if you have other employment unrelated to your employer's business that existed before notice was given, you may be permitted to continue it — check your contract for any exclusivity or outside employment clauses.
Only if your contract expressly says so. Most contracts state that post-termination restrictions run from the termination date — the end of your notice period. Some contracts, however, provide that the restriction runs from the date you stopped working (i.e., the start of garden leave), effectively reducing the post-employment restricted period. Check your contract carefully, and if in doubt, take legal advice.
If you breach an enforceable non-compete, your former employer can apply to court for an injunction to stop you working for the competitor, and can sue for damages for any losses caused. Injunction proceedings can be obtained very quickly (sometimes within days) and can force you to leave a new job immediately while the case is resolved. Always take specialist advice before breaching or assuming a restriction is unenforceable — the risk is substantial.