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Correct Procedure for Putting Employees on Garden Leave- 01/10/2010
It used to be the position that an employer could not require an employee to go on garden leave unless there was an express garden leave clause in their contract of employment. However in an EAT decision in Christie v Johnson Carmichael the employee had resigned and was told he was not required to work his notice the employer placed the employee on garden leave. The employee tried to claim that by the employer placing him on garden leave this amounted to a breach of contract so entitling the employee to resign and claim constructive dismissal. The EAT held that providing the employee did not have the “right to work” during the notice period when he was on garden leave and providing the employee would not be de-skilled if he did not work his notice period because in this particular case the employee could have done some private study to keep him up to date in his field, the EAT held that the employer was therefore entitled to place the employee on garden leave notwithstanding that there was no express garden leave clause in his contract of employment.