gardening leave

British

noun

informal a period during which an employee who is about to leave a company continues to receive a salary but does not work

"Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged" 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Example Sentences

Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.

A Mercedes statement said Owen would leave "after assuring the transition to his successor" and then have a period of gardening leave.

From BBC • Jan. 20, 2026

To underscore the shambolic nature of the situation, Ashworth actually spent as long on gardening leave waiting to join from Newcastle United as he did in post at Manchester United.

From BBC • Jan. 5, 2026

He is currently working out a period of gardening leave after agreeing his terms of departure from the Milton Keynes team and has been linked to Aston Martin and Haas among others.

From Barron's • Oct. 16, 2025

All three Houston-based bankers are set to start at Guggenheim in the fall after a period of gardening leave, added the sources, who spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss confidential information.

From Reuters • Jul. 22, 2022

Acconcia is on gardening leave, after leaving his role as a senior managing director at Blackstone in November, the sources said.

From Reuters • Jan. 13, 2022

Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023