Gardening leave

Gardening Leave is a phrase used to describe the practice of forcing a contracted employee to take leave in an attempt to protect sensitive information.

For example, the term is frequently used in Formula One motor racing to describe what happens when valued techical staff choose to move between teams. In an attempt to protect proprietary information about performance and design from falling into comeptitors hands the engineer in question is placed on gardening leave, sometimes for many months, to ensure that when he is finally able to join his new employer his knowledge is no longer current.

Contracts within the sport will normally include a very lengthy notice period (several months) to ensure that gardening leave is a practical and possible option.