also called gardening leave
A period where an employee who has resigned or been given notice is kept away from work but stays employed and paid until the notice ends.
This is when someone who has resigned or been given notice is told to stay away from work but kept on the payroll until the notice runs out. You are paid, but off the job and off client work. It is not severance, which is a payout when the job actually ends; on garden leave you are still an employee, so clauses like non-compete and confidentiality still bind you.
Someone quits to move abroad and start a new role, only to be put on garden leave for the whole notice period. They cannot begin the new job or touch old clients while the clock runs, because they are technically still employed by the company they are leaving, and their planned start date slips.
It keeps you off client work and often out of a new job during the notice period, which can stall a planned move or a new role abroad. Because you are still employed, clauses like non-compete and confidentiality still bind you throughout.
The difference is the whole point, so here is each one in a line.
Both involve being paid around the end of a job but at different points.
Garden leave keeps an employee who has resigned or been given notice away from work while still employed and paid until the notice runs out, while severance pay is money paid when the employment actually ends, often set by local law based on how long you worked.
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