Garden Leave Provisions: Negotiation, Drafting, and Legal Issues

Summary

This practice note provides guidance on drafting garden leave provisions in restrictive covenants or other employment agreements. Employers sometimes require employees to provide a specific amount of notice before resigning. During the notice period, employers sometimes instruct the employee to not come to work, but the employer keeps the employee on its payroll during this time. This practice is often referred to as garden leave. It helps keep employees from taking confidential information from the employer if the employee decides to join a competing company.