{"id":208988,"date":"2021-08-04T17:00:54","date_gmt":"2021-08-04T04:00:54","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/legalvision.co.nz\/?p=208988"},"modified":"2021-10-22T18:55:04","modified_gmt":"2021-10-22T05:55:04","slug":"alternatives-to-garden-leave","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/legalvision.co.nz\/employment\/alternatives-to-garden-leave\/","title":{"rendered":"Alternatives to Garden Leave in NZ"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">The question of whether to put an employee on <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/legalvision.co.nz\/employment\/garden-leave\/\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">garden leave<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400\"> can be tricky for your businesses. This decision will largely depend on your business\u2019 specific circumstances. For instance, a common situation is when an employee tells you they are giving notice and have accepted a job offer from a competitor business. While putting the employee on garden leave is a common recourse, t<\/span>here are also alternative<span style=\"font-weight: 400\">s you can <\/span>offer. You might decide to rely <span style=\"font-weight: 400\">on a restraint of trade provision or give the employee alternative work. This article will explain what garden leave is and other alternatives you can take.&nbsp;<\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">What Is Garden Leave<\/span><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">In terms of employment law, garden leave is not a legal concept. Although, it is a common practice used by all kinds of employers in select situations. If an employee is on garden leave, they receive full pay, and your business treats them as if they are carrying on full employment. However, they stay at home and do not work from home. There are a few situations where garden leave is helpful, including:<\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\"><li style=\"font-weight: 400\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">when an employee has given notice to resign and there is a need to separate them from proximity in the business to sensitive information and knowledge. This is often a recourse if an employee is leaving to work for a competitor business; and<\/span><\/li><li style=\"font-weight: 400\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">if there is a difficult situation at work and it is not tenable for the employee to continue working there. If you and the employee agree, they can take garden leave for a period of time. Note that this is <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/legalvision.co.nz\/employment\/when-can-i-suspend-an-employee\/\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">separate from a suspension<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400\"> and does not need to follow a particular process, so long as the employee agrees.<\/span><\/li><\/ul>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">Three Alternatives to Garden Leave<\/span><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">While garden leave is a useful tool for employers in certain situations, some alternatives can be preferable depending on the circumstances. For example, garden leave often does not represent the best use of an employee\u2019s time when they have given notice. This is particularly in situations where there is concern about sensitive information but otherwise a willingness for the employee to continue work.&nbsp;<\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">Giving Employee Alternative Work<\/span><\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">You can give the employee in question alternative duties or work instead of placing them on garden leave. For instance, an employee who has given notice can temporarily work in a different role rather than continue working with commercially sensitive information. You might prefer this option rather than have your employee sit at home without making a final contribution. This could also be a good idea if an employee needs to be removed from a particular office but could be temporarily placed at a separate workplace.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">Relying on a Restraint of Trade Clause<\/span><\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">You may have concerns that an employee might look to solicit employees or clients in their final time with your business before leaving to work for a competitor business. In that case, you do not necessarily need to place them on garden leave. Instead, you could continue them working out their notice period and look to enforce a <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/legalvision.co.nz\/commercial-contracts\/restraint-of-trade-clause-new-zealand\/\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">restraint of trade clause<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400\"> with a non-solicitation clause. This clause will prohibit employees from soliciting other employees or clients.&nbsp;<\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">Suspending the Employee<\/span><\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">Garden leave is separate from a suspension, where employees do not necessarily agree to be suspended. Garden leave should not be a replacement for a suspension to get around the procedural requirements of a suspension, for instance, during or following a <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/legalvision.co.nz\/employment\/how-should-a-disciplinary-investigation-be-conducted\/\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">misconduct investigation<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">. Seek advice from an employment lawyer on the best way to approach managing the employee in this situation.&nbsp;<\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n\n<a href=\"#content-next\"\n   class=\"block p-4 mt-10 text-xl font-bold text-center text-white no-underline bg-gray-800 rounded-t-xl\">\n    Continue reading this article below the form\n    <i class=\"text-xl fa-regular fa-arrow-down\"><\/i>\n<\/a>\n<div class=\"px-6 pt-10 pb-12 mb-10 text-center bg-gray-100 rounded-b-xl sm:px-12 test\">\n    <div class=\"mb-8 text-2xl font-bold text-orange\">\n        Need legal advice?\n        <br>\n        <span class=\"text-lg not-prose\">\n                            Call <a href=\"tel:+64800005570\" class=\"not-prose\">0800 005 570<\/a> for urgent assistance.\n                <br>\n                Otherwise, complete this form, and we will contact you within one business day.\n                    <\/span>\n    <\/div>\n\n    \n\n<div class=\"not-prose flex justify-center text-left gform_input_bg_white    \">\n   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For example, your employee may leave to work for a competitor business, and you both agree that garden leave is a good stop-gap solution to a difficult situation at work. However, there are other options. Some alternatives include giving an employee alternative duties or an alternative workplace. Additionally, your business can rely on a restraint of trade clause if you are concerned about your clients or employees being solicited away. You should also not mistake garden leave for suspension and pursue the latter where appropriate in a misconduct process.&nbsp;<\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">If you would like more information about garden leave and alternatives, contact <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/legalvision.co.nz\/employment-lawyers-lp\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">LegalVision\u2019s employment lawyers<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400\"> on <a href=\"tel:+64800005570\" class=\"AVANSERnumber dynamic-number\">0800 005 570<\/a> or complete the form on this page.<\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">Frequently Asked Questions<\/span><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"schema-faq wp-block-yoast-faq-block\"><div class=\"schema-faq-section\" id=\"faq-question-1628049142960\"><strong class=\"schema-faq-question\"><strong>Is it a mistake to put an employee on garden leave?<\/strong><\/strong> <p class=\"schema-faq-answer\">No, it is not necessarily a mistake. In some situations, it will make sense to put an employee on garden leave. For instance, if the employee is about to work for a competitor business and there are no alternative duties or responsibilities they can take at your business that do not give them continued access to commercially sensitive information.<\/p> <\/div> <div class=\"schema-faq-section\" id=\"faq-question-1628049153723\"><strong class=\"schema-faq-question\"><strong>Does an employee have to agree to garden leave?<\/strong><\/strong> <p class=\"schema-faq-answer\">Yes, your employee must agree to be placed on garden leave. Garden leave is different from suspension on full pay, which an employee does not have to agree with.<\/p> <\/div> <div class=\"schema-faq-section\" id=\"faq-question-1628049170513\"><strong class=\"schema-faq-question\"><strong>If an employee is working from home, is that the same as garden leave?<\/strong><\/strong> <p class=\"schema-faq-answer\">No, working from home is a separate concept from garden leave, where an employee is not reporting to work (physically or digitally).<\/p> <\/div> <\/div>\n<div class=\"not-prose m-feedback-prompt\">\n    <!-- Thumbs up\/down bar -->\n    <div class=\"m-feedback-prompt__main\">\n        <div class=\"m-feedback-prompt__title\">Was this article helpful?<\/div>\n        <div>\n            <!--span class=\"m-feedback-prompt__button--text\">Thanks!<\/span-->\n            <button type=\"button\" class=\"m-feedback-prompt__button m-feedback-prompt__button--yes\"\n                    data-analytics-link=\"feedback-prompt:yes\" aria-label=\"Agree\">\n                <i class=\"fa-regular fa-thumbs-up fa-3x\"><\/i>\n            <\/button>\n            <button type=\"button\" class=\"m-feedback-prompt__button m-feedback-prompt__button--no\"\n                    data-analytics-link=\"feedback-prompt:no\" aria-label=\"Disagree\">\n                <i class=\"fa-regular fa-thumbs-down fa-3x\"><\/i>\n            <\/button>\n        <\/div>\n    <\/div>\n\n    <!-- Feedback form -->\n    <div class=\"m-feedback-prompt__form\">\n        <div class=\"m-feedback-prompt__form--thanks \">\n            <div>Thanks!<\/div>\n            <p>\n                We appreciate your feedback \u2013 your submission has been successfully received.            <\/p>\n        <\/div>\n        <form id=\"contact-form\" class=\"m-feedback-prompt__form--form\" action=\"\" method=\"post\">\n            <input type=\"hidden\" id=\"authenticity_token\" name=\"authenticity_token\" value=\"5d238358bb\" \/><input type=\"hidden\" name=\"_wp_http_referer\" value=\"\/api\/wp\/v2\/posts\/208988\" \/>            <input value=\"https:\/\/legalvision.co.nz\/employment\/alternatives-to-garden-leave\/\" type=\"hidden\" name=\"currenturl\"\n                   id=\"currenturl\">\n            <input value=\"Alternatives to Garden Leave in NZ\" type=\"hidden\" name=\"currenttitle\"\n                   id=\"currenttitle\">\n            <label>\n                <!-- display on thumbs-up -->\n                <span class=\"m-feedback-prompt__feedback m-feedback-prompt__feedback--yes\">\n                    Can you tell us <span class=\"font-semibold\">why<\/span> you found it helpful?\n                <\/span>\n\n                <!-- display on thumbs-down -->\n                <span class=\"m-feedback-prompt__feedback m-feedback-prompt__feedback--no text-lg\">\n                    How can we better improve this article?\n                <\/span>\n                <textarea name=\"feedbackmessage\" id=\"feedbackmessage\" required><\/textarea>\n            <\/label>\n\n            <div class=\"m-feedback-prompt__form--error\" id=\"form-submit-error\"><\/div>\n            <button id=\"submit-contact-form-button\" type=\"submit\" name=\"commit\" class=\"m-feedback-prompt__form--submit\"\n                    data-analytics-link=\"feedback-prompt:submit\">\n                Submit            <\/button>\n        <\/form>\n    <\/div>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>The question of whether to put an employee on garden leave can be tricky for your businesses. This decision will largely depend on your business\u2019 specific circumstances. For instance, a common situation is when an employee tells you they are giving notice and have accepted a job offer from a competitor business. While putting the<a href=\"https:\/\/legalvision.co.nz\/employment\/alternatives-to-garden-leave\/\">Continue reading <span class=\"sr-only\">&#8220;Alternatives to Garden Leave in NZ&#8221;<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":13235,"featured_media":201818,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_relevanssi_hide_post":"","_relevanssi_hide_content":"","_relevanssi_pin_for_all":"","_relevanssi_pin_keywords":"","_relevanssi_unpin_keywords":"","_relevanssi_related_keywords":"","_relevanssi_related_include_ids":"","_relevanssi_related_exclude_ids":"","_relevanssi_related_no_append":"","_relevanssi_related_not_related":"","_relevanssi_related_posts":"","_relevanssi_noindex_reason":"","editor_notices":[],"footnotes":""},"categories":[5],"tags":[25,54,107,414,577],"class_list":["post-208988","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-employment","tag-small-business","tag-medium-business","tag-restraint-of-trade","tag-garden-leave","tag-employment-agreement"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v27.1.1 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/product\/yoast-seo-wordpress\/ -->\n<title>Alternatives to Garden Leave in NZ | LegalVision New Zealand<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Are you considering putting an employee on garden leave? 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Matt previously worked as an employment lawyer in a top-tier firm in New Zealand, and now works at the University of Auckland as a Research Fellow in the Faculty of Law.","sameAs":["anthony.lieu@legalvision.com.au"],"url":"https:\/\/legalvision.co.nz\/author\/mattbartlett\/"},{"@type":"Question","@id":"https:\/\/legalvision.co.nz\/employment\/alternatives-to-garden-leave\/#faq-question-1628049142960","name":"Is it a mistake to put an employee on garden leave?","acceptedAnswer":{"@type":"Answer","text":"No, it is not necessarily a mistake. In some situations, it will make sense to put an employee on garden leave. For instance, if the employee is about to work for a competitor business and there are no alternative duties or responsibilities they can take at your business that do not give them continued access to commercially sensitive information.","inLanguage":"en-NZ"},"inLanguage":"en-NZ"},{"@type":"Question","@id":"https:\/\/legalvision.co.nz\/employment\/alternatives-to-garden-leave\/#faq-question-1628049153723","name":"Does an employee have to agree to garden leave?","acceptedAnswer":{"@type":"Answer","text":"Yes, your employee must agree to be placed on garden leave. Garden leave is different from suspension on full pay, which an employee does not have to agree with.","inLanguage":"en-NZ"},"inLanguage":"en-NZ"},{"@type":"Question","@id":"https:\/\/legalvision.co.nz\/employment\/alternatives-to-garden-leave\/#faq-question-1628049170513","name":"If an employee is working from home, is that the same as garden leave?","acceptedAnswer":{"@type":"Answer","text":"No, working from home is a separate concept from garden leave, where an employee is not reporting to work (physically or digitally).","inLanguage":"en-NZ"},"inLanguage":"en-NZ"}]}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/legalvision.co.nz\/api\/wp\/v2\/posts\/208988","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/legalvision.co.nz\/api\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/legalvision.co.nz\/api\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/legalvision.co.nz\/api\/wp\/v2\/users\/13235"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/legalvision.co.nz\/api\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=208988"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/legalvision.co.nz\/api\/wp\/v2\/posts\/208988\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":211376,"href":"https:\/\/legalvision.co.nz\/api\/wp\/v2\/posts\/208988\/revisions\/211376"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/legalvision.co.nz\/api\/wp\/v2\/media\/201818"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/legalvision.co.nz\/api\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=208988"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/legalvision.co.nz\/api\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=208988"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/legalvision.co.nz\/api\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=208988"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}