Garden Leave Calculator
Updated November 2026 · Free · No sign-up
Calculate garden leave — serving notice at home on full pay and benefits: the dates, the money, what you may do (rest) and may not (work elsewhere), and how gardened time shortens restrictive covenants.
Quick answer: Garden leave = employed but sent home for the notice period: full salary, benefits, bonus accrual and holiday accrual continue; you stay bound by duties (no competitor work, no clients). Courts typically OFFSET gardened months against post-termination covenants — 6 months gardened often neutralizes a 6-month non-compete.
What Garden Leave Is
A contractual right (it must be IN the contract — imposing it without a clause risks breach, which can void covenants) to keep you employed-but-excluded during notice. The employer’s goals: staleness (your market knowledge ages), client-handover protection, and keeping you off a competitor’s desk.
Your Position During It
| Pay and benefits | Everything continues: salary, pension, car, insurance — and holiday keeps accruing (employers often require taking it within the garden) |
| Bonus | Depends on scheme wording — "employed at payment date" clauses are satisfied by garden leave; fight for pro-rata in settlement wording |
| Restrictions | Still an employee: fidelity duties bind — no competitor work, no soliciting clients/colleagues, availability for queries can be required |
| Allowed | Rest, travel, non-competing projects, job INTERVIEWS (accepting a competitor start date post-notice is fine; starting early isn’t) |
The Covenant Offset
Well-drafted contracts offset garden leave against post-termination restrictions, and courts lean that way regardless (total exclusion beyond reasonable protection fails): 3 months gardened + 6-month non-compete commonly enforces as ~3 post-termination months. Your calculator below shows the combined exclusion window.
Negotiation Notes
Gardened staff lose momentum — negotiate: early release (mutual), bonus crystallization, reference wording, and covenant waivers in exchange for clean handovers. Employers weigh garden-leave cost (full package for silence) against PILON (cheaper, but ends duties immediately — the ex-employee is free). The end date drives everything: map it with the notice-date calculator.
Frequently Asked Questions
Do I get full pay on garden leave?
Yes — salary, benefits, pension, and holiday accrual all continue; you remain an employee until the notice expires.
Can I start a new job during garden leave?
No — fidelity duties persist: no competitor work or client solicitation until the notice ends; interviewing and signing for a post-notice start is fine.
Does garden leave reduce my non-compete?
Usually — offset clauses (and judicial reasonableness limits) credit gardened months against post-termination restrictions.
Can my employer force garden leave?
Only with a contractual garden-leave clause — imposing it without one risks repudiatory breach, which can release you from covenants entirely.
What happens to my bonus?
Scheme wording decides — garden leave satisfies "employed at payment date" conditions; negotiate pro-rata treatment in any settlement.
✓ Formula verified • Last updated: November 3, 2026