How long does garden leave usually last?

As long as your contractual notice period — typically one to three months for most office roles, six months or more for senior contracts. Your contract dictates the maximum.

Can I take a new job during garden leave?

Generally no. You're still employed by your current employer and any non-compete clause still applies. Some employers will release you early to start elsewhere if you ask, particularly if you're not going to a direct competitor — but get the release in writing.

Do I get my bonus during garden leave?

It depends on the bonus scheme. If the bonus is for time worked or performance during the period, garden leave may or may not count. Get the specific wording in writing before assuming you'll qualify.

Garden Leave Calculator (UK) – When Does Garden Leave End?

Resignation date

Notice period

If the final day falls on a weekend, use the previous Friday

Pick a valid resignation date.

This calculator is for general guidance only. Always check your employment contract.

What garden leave actually means

Garden leave is when your employer keeps you on the payroll, paying your normal salary, but tells you not to come to work for the duration of your notice period. You remain employed and your contract still applies — including confidentiality, non-compete and non-solicit clauses. The end date is typically the same as your contractual notice end date.

Most garden leave clauses give the employer the right to put you on garden leave at any point during your notice. Some require mutual agreement. Read the relevant clause of your contract before assuming what your employer can or can't do, particularly if there's any disagreement about the start date or scope.

Why employers use garden leave

The most common reason is competitive risk. If you're moving to a competitor, garden leave protects the employer's commercial interests by keeping you out of the loop on current deals and clients while still preventing you from starting elsewhere. The longer your notice period, the more strategic value garden leave has for the employer.

Other reasons include reducing the chance of you encouraging colleagues to follow, protecting client relationships during transition, and giving the team time to plan without you in the office. Some employers use it routinely for senior leavers regardless of where they're going next.

What you can and can't do during garden leave

You're still employed, so the same rules apply. You can take pre-approved holiday and you continue accruing leave. You can't start a new role, including consultancy or freelance work, unless your contract or your employer specifically permits it. You also can't contact clients on behalf of a future employer — that breaches both your current contract and any non-solicit clause.

Your salary, pension contributions and most benefits continue normally. Bonuses can be more nuanced — if you'd otherwise have been at work for the bonus period, check the wording of your bonus scheme carefully. Share scheme vesting may continue or pause depending on the plan rules.

Garden leave vs PILON

Garden leave keeps you employed; payment in lieu of notice (PILON) ends the employment immediately and pays out the unworked notice as a lump sum. Tax treatment differs — PILON is fully taxable as earnings, garden leave pay is just normal salary subject to the usual deductions.

Restrictive covenants typically count from your contract end date in both cases, so the timing of when post-termination restrictions start to bite differs significantly. A six-month non-compete after a three-month garden leave means you're effectively out of the market for nine months total. That's worth modelling carefully if you've got an offer in hand and a tight start date.

Frequently asked questions

How long does garden leave usually last?: As long as your contractual notice period — typically one to three months for most office roles, six months or more for senior contracts. Your contract dictates the maximum.
Can I take a new job during garden leave?: Generally no. You're still employed by your current employer and any non-compete clause still applies. Some employers will release you early to start elsewhere if you ask, particularly if you're not going to a direct competitor — but get the release in writing.
Do I get my bonus during garden leave?: It depends on the bonus scheme. If the bonus is for time worked or performance during the period, garden leave may or may not count. Get the specific wording in writing before assuming you'll qualify.
When do my non-compete clauses start running?: From the end of your employment, not the start of garden leave. So a six-month non-compete after a three-month garden leave means you're effectively out of the market for nine months total. Calculate this carefully when negotiating a new role's start date.

Planning your next move?

A few things worth lining up before your last day.

Update your CV

Refresh your CV before you start applying — most hiring managers spend under a minute on the first scan.

Build your CV

Search for your next role

Browse openings that match your experience and notice period, with filters for remote and hybrid roles.

See open roles

Prepare for interviews

Practical interview prep — common questions, structured answers, and a short framework for tough ones.

Start preparing

Notice periods in the UK — a practical guide

How is a notice period calculated?

A notice period runs from the day you hand in your resignation to the last day you’re contractually required to work. If your contract says “one month’s notice”, you add one calendar month to the date you resign — so handing notice in on 15 March gives a final working day of 15 April. Weeks work the same way: two weeks is fourteen calendar days, not ten working days.

When the notice is in months and the target month doesn’t have your start day (e.g. resigning on 31 January with one month’s notice), the convention is to roll back to the last day of the next month — 28 February in most years, 29 February in a leap year.

Do weekends count in a notice period?

Yes. Notice is measured in calendar time, so weekends and bank holidays are included. If your final day lands on a Saturday or Sunday, most employers treat the previous Friday as your last working day — but that’s a practical convention, not a legal rule. The toggle in the calculator above mirrors that approach.

What is the minimum notice period in the UK?

If you’ve been employed for one month or more, the statutory minimum notice you have to give is one week — even if your contract is silent on the subject. Employers, by contrast, owe you at least one week’s notice for each full year of service, up to a cap of twelve weeks after twelve years.

Most contracts ask for longer than the statutory minimum (typically one or three months), and the longer of the two periods applies. Senior roles often have three or six months written in.

Can your employer ask you to work longer?

Not unilaterally. Your notice period is whatever your contract says (or the statutory minimum, whichever is longer). An employer can’t simply extend it. They can, however, ask you to leave earlier and pay you for the unworked notice (a payment in lieu of notice, or PILON), or place you on garden leave — keeping you on the payroll but away from the office.

If you’d like to leave sooner than your contract allows, the best route is usually a polite conversation. Many employers will agree to a shorter notice period in writing if cover is in place.

What should you do after resigning?

Get written acknowledgement of your resignation and the agreed final working day. Check that any accrued holiday will be paid out, and ask when to expect your final payslip and P45. Tidy up handover notes early so the last fortnight isn’t a scramble, and line up references before access to work systems is removed.

If you don’t already have your next role lined up, give yourself a week to refresh your CV and shortlist roles before starting applications in earnest — the resources below are a decent starting point.