Handed in notice but not on gardening leave why?

jonathandaws

Hi

Handed in my months notice yesterday. I'm going to a direct Competitor of my current employer & was honest about this fact. They have taken my access from one system away. However I still have access to share drives & email etc.

I really don't think I should be in the office as it's a conflict of interest.

What are my current employers playing at?

Advice is welcome.

Mistral001

They probably just trust you to do nothing that would harm them.

laurel7172

I really think it's up to the employer to decide what they need to do to protect themselves.

Going to a direct competitor does not give you some sort of automatic right to a paid holiday.

AP007

What are they playing at? Ask them? Maybe they are getting you to work notice can get you to do anything in that time.

princessdon

Employers can't win! If they put on garden leave people are indignant re their character, if they don't they are still bad.

Annisele

If you have the sort of job where the conflict of interest is obvious, you should raise your concerns with your manager. I'm thinking of things like "being in charge of putting in bids for contracts, when your current employer is bidding against your new employer".

If you have the sort of job where there doesn't appear to be any real conflict at all, I think you should just keep your head down and get on with it. Here I'm thinking of things like administering payroll; you doing a good job for your current employer doesn't hurt your new one.

If (as I'm guessing) your role is somewhere in between those to extremes, then I guess the answer is that your employer trusts you - and you should do your job to the best of your ability for the next month.

I was once in a similar position. I resigned on the same day as the guy I sat next to (it was a coincidence; neither of us knew in advance the other was resigning). He was frogmarched off the premises by security, and I was made to work my two months notice. I was properly narked - but found out years later that we'd given very different answers to the question "if we made you work your notice, would you do anything to harm this company". I'm now back working for that same company - and very glad I didn't burn my bridges!

Pricivius

Another point to note is that your contract may well contain enforceable covenants relating to you working in competition to your current employer, taking confidential advice and poaching clients/colleagues. Your employer may therefore not be concerned as you have made promises that you will not screw them over which they will enforce if you breach them. Check your contract - there may also be a clause requiring you to give your new employer a copy of these obligations so that they know what they can and cannot ask you to do.

Why should they pay you to sit at home when you can do the filing and make the teas for them?

paddedjohn

Cant do much damage leaving Tesco to go to Asda.

Ectophile

In the indistry where I work, there's pretty much a merry-go-round of employees moving between the different competing companies. It's not unknown for someone to leave, only to come back again a few years later when fortunes change.

I've never known anyone to be sent on gardening leave. The last few weeks is a time to finish off whatever you were doing, and hand over everything you've worked on to your colleagues. My employer trusts us not to grab armloads (or more likely USB memory sticks) full of documents and take them to a competitor.

getmore4less

In most cases it is too late anyway, the bad&smart ones have allready taken what they need.

Funky_Bold_Ribena

I'm really sorry OP but this means you just aren't important enough to warrant GL.