As soon as you deliver a resignation letter on your employer's desk, he might ask you to go on gardening leave. When you notice to your employer that you are planning to leave this job could be your last day in the office. An employer asks you:

Kindly don't come back to the office or don't work from home for the office. Besides, he requires you to handover a laptop or digital device that the company gave you. He nicely asks you to take a break from work until you join your next job.

If it's your first time encountering gardening leave UK, you will get upset and feel bad. 

Take a deep breath. 

There is nothing to feel worried about.  

If an employer asks you to go on gardening leave, it's not a bad thing at all. It's nothing but a standard business practice. I know many employees panic when they come across this situation. Therefore, I decided to create a complete Gardening Leave UK Guide for everyone. So, let's get started and know: what is Gardening Leave, why does an employer give you one, or does it have anything to do with your future career prospects or not. 

What is Garden Leave UK?

Some people say it as Gardening while others name it as Garden; either way, it's the same kind of leave. An employer will put an employee on Gardening leave the UK when he has been resigning from a job, made redundant on the job, or suspended from a job. 

 As the employer is putting you on break, you will spend time away from the office and won't do any office work from home during that period. However, you will enjoy employee benefits and payroll as per your employee contract UK.

Typically, employers mention in your contract that he has full right to put you on garden leave. Even if there is no specific provision, he can make it a part of the contract later.

What's the Main Purpose of Placing an Employee on Gardening Leave?

An employer puts an employee on Garden leave the UK by keeping the company's interest at his heart. Here are some main reasons that validate this action.

An employee is going to join a competitor. Therefore the employer keeps him away from the office. Thereby, he won't be able to access confidential information or documents, which he can otherwise use for his new employer, aka the company's competitor. An employer restricts his access to every single aspect of their business to keep privacy and confidentiality intact.

When an employee resigns, the employer might think that it's best for the company's environment to interact with staff. Therefore, he asks him not to come back once his notice period begins. Many employers believe that a leaving employee might have some negative effect on the workplace. Therefore they start their Gardening leave UK from the first notice period day.

In some cases, an employee has a long relationship with a company's clients, and there is a risk that the employee will continue working, then clients might go with him. Employers place him on gardening leave to ensure that clients stay with the existing company.

Gardening Leave Employee Guide

I hope you have grasped the central concept of GARDENING LEAVE UK. I know tons of questions related to this leave have been popping up in your mind. I created this guide to address every single query you have related to garden leave UK. So, continue reading and get detailed answers to 27 common questions related to it.

What an Employee CAN and CAN'T Do During Gardening Leave?

The employee has a particular role and responsibilities that he needs to take care of during his break period. 

Things you Can DO While You place on Garden Leave

1. You can search for new job opportunities. Whether you have resigned or made redundant or suspended, you have full right to search for your new job opportunities in UK. Go straight to http://uk.fratres.net and start exploring tons of golden job options.
2. You can apply for a job during your gardening leave. As you have no office work to deal with, don't sit still at home. Instead, make the most of this time and start sending your job application. 
3. Have you got an interview call? Okay, you can go for a job interview while you are on your gardening leave. I suggest you explore common job interview questions and start doing interview preparation. 
4. You can accept your job offer and negotiate a salary.

Okay now. It's the stop point. Know:

Things An Employee Can't Do While on Your Gardening Leave 

Here are some things that you should not do during your break period.

1. Joining another company and starting a new job. That's not you are allowed to do while your contract with your old employer is not over. In other words, you enjoy employee benefits and payroll from your current employer. It might seem quite tempting to join another employer and earn a double salary, but you can't do that legally. 
2. In case you start a new job during your notice period or while on leave, your employer has full rights to take legal actions against you. check how to write a notice week letter.
3. It would be best if you waited until your leave period is over and can join another company. Why put your career in jeopardy? 

Enjoy your job offer and free time at home. Plan a party or friends hangout and some fun. Try to make the most of your free time. It's okay to have some weeks free from the stress of routine work. 

Can an Employee Ask for a Gardening Leave UK?

No, he can't ask for it. If your employer wants you to continue work until the notice period is over, you will have to follow his guideline. Employers hold more authority than employees. However, if you want to go on break, the right way is to sit with your employer and tell him that you will work with his competitor, and there might be a conflict of interest. Again, please don't push it. Else it will backfire. 

Your employer might understand the whole situation and ask you to go on break. But you can't force him for that legally.

Is Gardening Leave a Bad Thing?

An employee who has been working for a company for a very long time feels terrible when he will be put on gardening leave UK. However, he needs to understand some strategic reasons behind this leave. An employer is taking that action to protect its employees, clients, or business—no need to feel bad.

Even when your existing employer put you on gardening leave, your new employer won't get a hint that you were on that leave. In case he finds out, he will understand and won't consider it a bad thing being an employer himself. Therefore, don't think negatively that this gardening leave will mark your portfolio in any way. 

Gardening leaves a good thing, in reality. The purpose of writing this gardening leave employee guide is to put an end to a misconception that gardening leave will affect your future career prospects- it won't happen at all.

As you are going on leave for a few weeks, it's your time of self-exploration. Know your strength and talent, reset your CV and cover letter, and apply for a job you always wanted. Instead of seeing Gardening Leave UK under Negative Magnifying glass, you should try to see a big picture here. 

Another positive factor is to see here is that you have got some free time. You can feel relax, spend quality time with family, invest in your skills, enroll in new courses, and bring the best version out of you. 

This free time will re-energize you for an upcoming job.

When Does a Gardening Leave Start?

Generally, an employer starts a period of gardening leave from the second day of your notice. You will be asked to leave the office and put all company's devices on your desk. The employer tells you that your services are no longer be needed. You can get a salary and employee benefits during that time. 

In other cases, an employer might wait and ask you to train a new employee and then go for gardening leave. The exact time to start gardening leave is solely based on the employer's decision.
 

Summary

An employer places you on gardening leave in the UK; you don't ask for this leave, though. According to the gardening leave employee guide, an employee is entitled to all benefits and monthly payroll while he is put on garden leave in the UK. Typically this leave starts from the next day of the employee's notice period.  Only an employer can decide whether to put an employee on garden leave or not.

An employee can apply for a job and attend interviews during his gardening leave, and this action complies with an employee contract. However, an employee isn't allowed to join a new employer and start working during leave as his employer's contract isn't over yet.

Do you still have some questions related to the Gardening Leave employee guide? Feel free to ask.