Include a garden leave clause in an employment contract

Key points

• Employers often wish to put employees who have resigned or been given notice of dismissal on garden leave, to prevent them working for a competitor.
• Including a garden leave clause in an employment contract can help to protect the employer from claims that it is acting unlawfully by restricting the employee in this way. However, the employer should be aware of the limitations of such clauses and should ensure that the clause is drafted in such a way as to increase the chance of its being enforceable.
• A garden leave clause can be used to avoid uncertainty as to the employee's duties during the garden leave period - for example, to state that the employee must remain available to be contacted by the organisation.

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