The gardening license also poses a rather big drawback for an employer: the cost. Since employees on gardening leave are entitled to at least a percentage of their salary, as well as other benefits, when an employee is placed on gardening leave, an employer essentially pays them for doing nothing, or very little. Employers typically use the gardening license for strategic reasons. Placing an executive on gardening leave protects the employer's business by allowing the employer to exclude the employee from their business during the notice period, keeping the individual away from customers, colleagues, and confidential information.
It also prevents the employee from starting a new job with a competitor or starting his own business out of enmity. Gardening leave is when an employee is suspended on full pay for part or all of the notice period. It's called that because the employee stays away from the business, but can spend time engaging in hobbies, such as gardening. Gardening leave is when an employer requests that an employee, when filing their notice, do not need to return to the office.
This is a type of absence where an employee is asked not to work during the notice period, prior to departure, while remaining on the payroll. Upon the resignation or dismissal of an employee, the employer may decide to grant the employee a gardening leave. So make sure you have a gardening leave clause in your contract, make sure the employee signs the contract and that you keep it, in a secure and easily retrievable way (for example, by using an online HR data storage solution like Personio), and you'll be prepared if you ever need to use it. Given the costs associated with gardening leave, employers should think very carefully about retaining an employee who is no longer under contract, as this would require the company's financial resources.
Rocketlawyer says that “without a prior agreement, putting an employee on gardening leave is technically a breach of contract and they may be considered fired and immediately released from their employment, free to accept a new job. However, legal advice is always worth seeking, as employers can find themselves in a financially onerous position if the correct procedures are not followed when placing staff on gardening leave; the process, as we have seen, is not always as simple as it seems. There are several commercial and legal benefits that come with the gardening license, not least because the employer retains control over the employee, who remains bound by the express and implied terms of their employment contract, but without any obligation on the part of the employer to provide them with work or with access to the place of work, including access to company, colleague, or customer information. Even so, employers should always be careful when deciding to place an employee on gardening leave, weighing the pros and cons of keeping the employee going out of business while keeping them under contract.
During the gardening leave, the employee remains under contract and is therefore bound by all contractual clauses, including the duty of confidentiality. In general, the employee should continue to receive all normal wages and benefits during the gardening leave, unless their employment contract says otherwise. Gardening leave is sometimes considered a euphemism for suspension and can be perceived to have negative connotations, such as the employee being unfit for anything other than tending their garden. Any employer wishing to place an employee on a period of gardening leave must also first ensure that there is an express clause in the employment contract that entitles them to do so.
For example, employees can negotiate that part of their notice is used as gardening leave time, as long as the company also agrees. By simply promising not to seek new employment within a certain period of time, employees with garden leave enjoy their salary and other additional benefits. .
