Career · 7 min read

Notice period and garden leave: understanding your obligations and rights

When you accept a job offer, you often know your notice period at your current employer is three months but you do not know what that means in practice. Your new employer wants you to start in six weeks. Your current employer has put you on garden leave. Your accrued holiday is being paid out. No one has explained how these things fit together or what you should actually expect in the final weeks of employment. This post covers the mechanics of notice, how it intersects with your new start date, what garden leave means and why it exists, and what you should know about the handover period.

What a notice period is actually for

A notice period is a contract term that requires you to give your employer advance warning before you leave. It is not punitive and it is not a hostage situation. It exists to give the employer time to plan. They need time to hire your replacement or redistribute your work, to hand over client relationships or ongoing projects, and to protect knowledge that would otherwise walk out the door when you do.

Notice periods vary widely by country, industry and role. In the United Kingdom, statutory notice is one week for employees, though contracts often specify longer periods, typically two to four weeks for junior staff and three months for more senior roles. In the United States, two weeks is culturally standard but often not contractually required. In much of Europe, notice periods are longer and more rigidly legally defined—three months is common in Germany and Scandinavia. Australia and Canada often specify notice by role or agreement. Australia requires employers to give notice too, which is less common elsewhere.

Your contract states your notice period. You should know what it says before you hand in your resignation. If you resign without giving the required notice, you are in breach of contract. That does not mean you will be sued—most employers do not take that step—but it can affect your reference and it can create a legal liability if there is a dispute about payment of final wages.

Notice periods and your new start date

When you accept a new job, the offer typically comes with a proposed start date. Your notice period is separate. If you give notice immediately and your notice is three months, you leave in three months. Your new employer may not want to wait that long. They may ask you to start sooner or they may accept the three-month gap.

If you need to start earlier than your notice period allows, you can ask your current employer for early release. They may agree, especially if you offer to pay part of the penalty yourself or if they can arrange a handover in less time. Some contracts state that the employer can accept early resignation or can require you to serve the full notice. Others allow the employer to place you on garden leave immediately, which we cover below.

Do not assume your new employer will negotiate on start dates. Some are flexible because they do not have someone on the bench ready to start. Others have a hiring calendar and your start date matters—it affects onboarding plans, budget cycles or project timings. When you are negotiating the offer, ask: 'I have a three-month notice period at my current employer. Can you accommodate that start date or would you need me earlier?' Get this answer before you resign. Do not resign and then discover your new employer will not wait and your current employer will not release you early.

What garden leave actually is

Garden leave—or 'gardening leave' in some places—means you are still employed and still receiving your salary, but you are not required to come to work and you are often prohibited from working for competitors or contacting clients. The employer keeps you 'on the shelf' but out of the office. It is used mainly for senior roles, roles with access to valuable client lists or intellectual property, or roles where the employer worries you might immediately join a competitor and take business with you.

Garden leave is paid and it is not punishment. It is an enforceable alternative to a non-compete clause. The logic is: we pay you to sit at home and do nothing rather than let you go to a competitor immediately and cause damage. You still have obligations—you cannot work full-time for someone else, you often cannot drum up business, you may not contact clients—but you are not expected to do work for your current employer.

Garden leave is common in finance, consulting, and some sales roles. It is rare in most other fields. Whether your contract has a garden-leave clause is something you should check before you resign. If you are placed on garden leave, you are entitled to be paid in full for the duration, the same as if you were at your desk. You may also be able to take paid leave during garden leave if your contract allows accruing but not taking leave while gardened.

Negotiating an earlier release

If your notice period is three months and your new employer needs you in six weeks, you have two tasks: convince your current employer to release you early, or negotiate a later start date with your new employer.

To convince your current employer, frame it as a mutual benefit. Do you have a junior person who can absorb your work? Can the handover be compressed into four weeks instead of twelve? Can you take on a specific short-term project that will be complete before you leave? If you can make the early exit materially easier for them, they may agree. If you offer to work reduced hours during your notice period or to help train your replacement even after you leave, they may also be more flexible. Come with concrete ideas about how your departure will be managed, not just a request to leave early.

Do not threaten to resign anyway if they do not release you. That is rarely effective and it damages your reference. If they refuse and your new employer will not negotiate, you have to decide: can you wait out the full notice period? Can your new employer delay their plans? Is the new role worth waiting for? This is a real negotiation, not a position where you have unlimited leverage.

What happens to your leave and pay

Accrued annual leave at the end of your employment is usually paid out as a lump sum, though this varies by country. In the UK, statutory holiday accrual is paid when you leave. In some European countries, unused leave is used or lost depending on your contract. In Australia and most US states, unused PTO is typically paid. Check your contract and ask HR what applies to you.

Final pay—for time worked plus any lump-sum payouts—should be paid on your final pay date or shortly after. If you are on garden leave and you take any accrued leave during that time, it comes out of the leave balance, not the garden-leave period itself. So if you are gardened for eight weeks and you take a week of holiday, you have seven weeks of garden leave and one week of leave, and your accrued leave balance drops by one week.

Any bonus, commission or benefits due to you should be clear from your contract. Some employers pro-rate bonuses based on time served. Some withhold them entirely if you are not there at payout. Check your contract and ask HR before you resign so you know what to expect.

Why the last weeks matter

Your final weeks at a job establish the reference your employer gives. If you leave on good terms and you have handled handover professionally, your reference will reflect that. If you checked out early, missed meetings or left chaos, your reference will be cooler or your employer may decline to give one at all.

During your notice period, treat the job as if you plan to stay. Go to meetings, finish work you have started, write documentation, introduce your replacement to key contacts and client relationships. The people you work with will notice if you have emotionally left—and they will tell future employers.

If your relationship with the employer deteriorated and you are worried about your reference, document your accomplishments before you leave. Get a letter of recommendation from your manager or a senior colleague while they still see you regularly. Ask for a reference in writing. These steps protect you if the reference becomes hostile later.

A final note on variation

Notice periods, garden leave, leave entitlements and final pay are all governed by local law and your specific contract. What applies in the UK is not law in the US or Australia. Some roles are covered by collective agreements that override standard contract terms. Public sector roles often have different rules from private-sector roles. Do not assume what your friend experienced will match your situation. Read your contract, ask HR what applies, and if you are unsure about your rights, check with a local employment adviser or union representative.

The short version

Your notice period is defined in your contract and it is binding on you. Before you resign, know what it is and check whether your new employer will accommodate it. If not, negotiate with your current employer for early release before you resign. Garden leave, if it applies, is paid time off-site and may restrict what you can do outside work. Find out what applies to you. Your leave will usually be paid out and your final pay is due on or shortly after your last day. During your notice period, remain professional and complete handovers well—it matters for your reference.

Related guides

Try JobStraight free →