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A garden leave clause gives employers the right to keep an employee away from work during their notice period while the employee remains employed and paid. It is commonly used when an employee has access to sensitive business information, client relationships, commercial strategy, or internal systems that should be protected before they leave the company.
For employers, the clause needs to be clear, reasonable, and written into the employment contract before it is used. A vague or overly broad clause may create confusion during resignation or termination, especially if the employee disputes whether the company has the right to place them on garden leave.
A garden leave clause is a provision in an employment contract that allows the employer to instruct an employee not to report for work, contact clients, access company systems, or perform duties during all or part of the notice period.
The employee usually remains on payroll during garden leave. This means salary, contractual benefits, and employment obligations generally continue until the employment relationship officially ends.
In Singapore, notice periods are usually governed by the employment contract. If the contract specifies a notice period, the employee or employer must either serve the notice or pay salary in lieu of notice.
Garden leave helps employers manage business risk during employee exits. This is especially useful when the employee is moving to a competitor, holds a senior role, manages key accounts, or has access to confidential information.
A well written garden leave clause can help employers:
Garden leave should not be used as a punishment. It should be linked to a legitimate business need, such as protecting confidential information, customer relationships, or business continuity.
A garden leave clause is more likely to be useful when it is clearly written into the employment contract. If the contract does not contain an express garden leave clause, the employer may have less certainty when asking the employee to stay away from work during notice.
Employers should also be careful not to make the clause broader than necessary. In Singapore, the Ministry of Manpower has stated that restraint of trade clauses is generally enforceable only when there are legitimate business interests to protect, and when the scope, duration, and geographical coverage are reasonable.
Although garden leave is different from a post employment non compete clause, both can affect an employee’s ability to work. This is why employers should keep the clause proportionate and avoid using garden leave for longer than needed.
A good garden leave clause should answer seven practical questions.
The clause should explain when the employer can place an employee on garden leave. This could apply after either party gives notice of resignation or termination.
The clause should state whether the employee must remain available for work related requests. Even if the employee is not actively working, the employer may still need them to answer questions, support handover, return information, or help with transition matters.
The clause should clearly state the restrictions during garden leave. These may include not attending the workplace, not contacting clients, not accessing systems, and not representing the company externally.
The clause should clarify that the employee remains employed and will continue receiving salary and contractual benefits during garden leave, unless the contract or applicable law allows otherwise.
The clause should confirm that the employee cannot start new employment or provide services to another business during garden leave unless the employer gives written approval.
The clause should give the employer the right to request the return of company property and suspend access to systems.
The clause should make clear that other obligations continue during garden leave. These may include confidentiality, fiduciary duties, intellectual property obligations, non solicitation, and conflict of interest rules.
Employers can adapt the wording below based on the role, seniority, business risk, and local legal requirements.
Garden Leave
After either party has given notice of termination, the Company may, at its discretion, place the Employee on garden leave for all or part of the notice period.
During garden leave, the Employee will remain employed by the Company and will continue to receive salary and contractual benefits in accordance with this Agreement and applicable law.
The Company may require the Employee not to perform any duties, not to attend the Company’s premises, not to access Company systems, and not to contact clients, suppliers, business partners, candidates, employees, or other work related contacts unless authorised in writing.
The Employee must remain contactable during normal working hours and must provide reasonable assistance with handover, transition, or other work related matters when requested by the Company.
The Employee must not commence employment with, provide services to, or act for another business, whether paid or unpaid, during garden leave without the Company’s prior written consent.
The Company may require the Employee to return all Company property, documents, devices, records, access cards, confidential information, and materials at the start of or during garden leave. The Company may also suspend or restrict the Employee’s access to Company systems, email, communication platforms, and physical premises.
All contractual duties and obligations, including confidentiality, intellectual property, conflict of interest, non solicitation, and duties of good faith and fidelity, will continue to apply during garden leave.
Need Help Managing Employment Contracts Across Markets?
Writing a clear garden leave clause is important, but it is only one part of managing employment risk. Employers also need to align contracts with local labour rules, notice periods, payroll obligations, benefits, and offboarding requirements.
If your company is hiring or managing talent across Singapore and Southeast Asia, Glints TalentHub can help you handle employment, payroll, compliance, onboarding, and HR administration through one unified solution. This gives your team a clearer way to manage employee contracts and transitions across borders.
A garden leave clause should be linked to a real business need. If the clause applies to every employee regardless of role, risk, or access level, it may look excessive.
A junior employee with limited access to sensitive information may not need the same garden leave restrictions as a senior sales leader, country manager, finance leader, or product executive.
Garden leave usually happens while the employee is still employed. If the clause does not explain salary and benefits clearly, the employee may dispute how they should be paid during the notice period.
Employers should also check whether annual leave, bonuses, commissions, allowances, or benefits continue during garden leave based on the employment contract and applicable law.
Garden leave and salary in lieu of notice are different.
With garden leave, the employee remains employed during the notice period but may be told not to work. With salary in lieu of notice, the employment may end earlier because one party pays the other instead of serving notice.
MOM states that if a contract specifies a notice period, the party terminating employment must either serve the notice or pay salary in lieu of notice.
Employers should be specific about whether the employee can access email, shared drives, customer relationship tools, Slack, Lark, HR systems, source code, financial records, or client documents.
A clear clause helps HR, IT, finance, and managers act consistently when garden leave begins.
Garden leave is useful, but it should not be the only protection in an employment contract. Employers may also need confidentiality clauses, intellectual property clauses, non solicitation clauses, conflict of interest clauses, and clear return of property obligations.
For senior or sensitive roles, these clauses should work together instead of relying only on garden leave.
Before adding a garden leave clause to an employment contract, employers should check whether the clause:
Garden leave is usually tied to the employee’s notice period. The right duration depends on the role, the employee’s access to sensitive information, and the time needed to protect the business or complete a handover.
For many roles, garden leave may only be needed for part of the notice period. For senior employees, sales leaders, executives, or employees with access to confidential plans, pricing, client relationships, or market strategy, a longer period may be more practical.
Employers should avoid setting garden leave periods that are longer than necessary. The more restrictive the arrangement, the more important it is to show that the restriction is reasonable and connected to a legitimate business interest.
Garden leave clauses are only one part of a compliant employee exit process. Employers also need to manage notice periods, final salary, unused leave, benefits, tax obligations, system access, handover, and local employment rules.
This becomes more complex when companies hire across multiple countries. A garden leave clause that works in one market may not work the same way in another, especially when employment laws, payroll rules, and termination practices differ.
For companies hiring across Singapore and the wider region, Glints TalentHub helps you manage employment, payroll, compliance, onboarding, HR administration, and employee transitions through one clearer operating model. This gives your team stronger support when hiring, managing, and offboarding talent across borders.
A garden leave clause should be clear, practical, and reasonable. It should explain when garden leave can be used, what the employee can and cannot do, how salary and benefits will be handled, and what obligations continue during the notice period.
For employers, the goal is not only to restrict an employee from working. The goal is to protect confidential information, manage handover properly, reduce business disruption, and keep the exit process compliant.
Before using a garden leave clause, employers should review the employment contract, the employee’s role, the business risk, and the local legal requirements that apply.
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