What are garden leave clauses?

Popular in England for many years, garden leave clauses are increasingly being used in the United States.  Typically, these clauses are inserted in an employee’s employment contract and are designed to extend an employee’s duty of loyalty beyond the employee’s desired term of employment by requiring the employee to remain with the company in a reduced or often nonexistent role. [1] This is accomplished by either requiring the employee to give notice well in advance of departure (ex. three to six months) or by requiring the employee to remain with the company for a  period of time after expressing his or her wish to leave. During these periods the employee remains on the payroll, but no longer participates meaningfully in the operation of the business and may even be told to stay away from the business altogether, giving the employee leave to “tend their garden” instead. (more…)