Feb 26, 2019

Non compete plus gardening leave: enforceable in UK?

Hi,

I am working at a Quant fund in the UK and my employment contract has a notice period of 6 months (the company has the right to put me on gardening leave for this) plus six months non compete after this. So if they can enforce this, I will have to wait one year before I can join a competitor.

Do some of you have experience on how this works in the UK? Can the non compete be enforced? Will they have to pay me? Obviously they have to pay me during the gardening leave as I would still be employed by the company, but the contract says nothing about the non compete. So could the company get away with forcing me to sit out these six months without pay?

Thanks for your help!

198 WSO Academy Hedge Fund Session Reviews: 4.78/5

Class of '29 Sep 2026 Cohort

5.00/5

Hedge Fund LinkedIn Review

“My meeting with Kevin Lee was super helpful and went well beyond what I originally expected. We met to discuss my LinkedIn profile, but the conversation also covered the hedge fund space and how I’m thinking about my career as a whole. I really appreciated being able to talk about both how I present myself professionally and the broader direction I want to take. As someone interested in hedge funds but also exploring other paths in finance, it was helpful to have a conversation that connected my profile to my actual interests and goals. Kevin gave me a lot to think about, and I left feeling clearer about my next steps. Overall, I really appreciated his time and willingness to go beyond the original purpose of our meeting.”

Class of '26 Sep 2026 Cohort

4.56/5

Hedge Fund Mock Interview

“He was very responsive and prepared for the meeting. He actually read the JD, resume, and looked up linkedin which sometimes other mentors doesn't actually go over those to prepare things beforehand. I appreciate his direct comments I think it saved time and actually helped me to know exactly where to improve. I also appreciated him admitting if he doesn't know about specific HF strategy. Only thing I'd suggest for him is probably sending actionable key takeaways after the meeting because other mentors did and that was very helpful. ”

See All 11,554 WSO Academy Reviews

4 Comments

WSO Monkey Bot

Hi CambridgeGuy1986, no, I never sleep and so I can respond to any lonely threads (like this one) at all hours of the night. Impressive, I know ;-)

Resigning & Garden Leave I'm trying to figure out if I can look forward to garden leave, or weeks of sitting around. I am ... governing principle? I've known people in sales & trading who were gone the day they resigned. In ... research, it seems that people are usually put on garden leave if they're heading to another sell-side ...
Quitting time- views on how to leave your job a peon. This should leave a good impression and you'll never know when/how that could work in your ... also leaving to join another division & region in the same bank (ie inevitably I would come across ... manager and is willing to deal with your resignation constructively, plus thinks that there is value ...
LEaving a job- signed a Non-compete- Why should I tell them where Im going? ready to make another move. I signed a non-compete, leaving could impact my stock awards, and they could ... even stop me from working for 6 months, but they have only ever enforced that in special cases and ... mechanism companies routinely use to check on former employees? Thanks non-compete ...
Non-compete for RE Dev Associate? develops in any of their markets (basically any sizable RE firm within several states). The non-compete ... this and screw me over? Does the non-compete still apply if I get laid off? Thanks in advance for any ... looks good, but they want me to sign a non-compete that prevents me from working for any RE company that ...
Non-Competes for IB Analysts was a non-compete clause made part of the standard (or sample) employment agreement that you received? ... (can you leave)? And truth be told, how much does this impede job prospects and exit-opps in general at ... Hey monkeys, For those of you who were hired as IB Analysts/Associates (recently or in the past), ...
Leaving Drinks really wanted to know was 1) How long was the lucky bastard's 'gardening leave' (e.g. his ... "Parting is such sweet sorrow". My arse. When it comes to certain colleagues who leave ... a deeply unpopular character announced his resignation and, as is the City tradition, was obliged to invite ...
Resign or take offer? choose the termination date so I can go on gardening leave- let me keep my work blackberry (no sim)- give ... management?) The culture in the team, as you can imagine is male driven and they are quite laddish/cowboys so ... Hi All, I am in a bit of a predicament, I am a stock broker and I am not sure what to do in this ...
More suggestions...

Fingers crossed that one of those helps you.

Quote

Report

Other

I'm an AI bot trained on the most helpful WSO content across 17+ years.

nom_de_plume

I think the only person who can realistically help here is a solicitor with experience in employment contracts.

The penalties if you put a foot wrong in interpreting your contract could be potentially serious.

Quote

Report

Other

is Value Investing Worth It

mrb87

Most Helpful

"CambridgeGuy1986" Hi,
I am working at a Quant fund in the UK and my employment contract has a notice period of 6 months (the company has the right to put me on gardening leave for this) plus six months non compete after this. So if they can enforce this, I will have to wait one year before I can join a competitor.

Do some of you have experience on how this works in the UK? Can the non compete be enforced? Will they have to pay me? Obviously they have to pay me during the gardening leave as I would still be employed by the company, but the contract says nothing about the non compete. So could the company get away with forcing me to sit out these six months without pay?

Thanks for your help!

I suggest you spend the £400 or so to consult with a lawyer.

Quote

Report

Other

Authored by: Certified Hedge Fund Professional - PrincipalCertified Hedge Fund Pro

AretePursuit

Pariatur velit voluptatibus debitis ullam similique quod sed. Saepe aspernatur consequatur est asperiores. At aut officiis consequuntur sapiente consectetur illo.

Quibusdam est quae ullam in hic quidem autem quibusdam. Similique quis error sed maiores.

In in eos qui. Sequi molestias ut excepturi voluptate magnam possimus. Nesciunt consequatur aut doloribus aut. Quo ullam doloremque non vel fuga iusto laboriosam. Unde et quae non deleniti consectetur aut aut.

Quote

Report

Other

Authored by: Certified Hedge Fund Professional - Investment ManagerCertified Hedge Fund Pro

+10	Bad GPA, HF offer, lost in life, what do i do?	8	2h
+9	Take-private spreads: Baldwin Insurance ($7.7B EV) vs a small UK deal like Dianomi (£19M). Same playbook?	1	5d
+9	CRH agreed to buy Arcosa at US$150 per share in cash, about US$8.5B. How do you think about the spread on a big strategic cash deal?	1	2d
+9	Internship Advice	1	6h
+9	Nuvei is paying $7.40 a share in cash for Payoneer, US$2.75B equity. How do you read a premium that is still below the debut valuation?	0	3h
+7	Japan parent tender offers: Takara Holdings for Takara Bio and Brother for MUTOH both closed in about seven weeks	2	3d
+7	Warburg Pincus plans a JPY 9,000 per share tender for J.S.B., est. JPY 200B. How do you approach a sponsor tender in Japan?	2	14h
+6	HH in London	2	5d
+3	Cubist	1	5d
+3	Point72 2028 Summer Academy	1	3d

1	redever	99.2
2	kanon	99.0
3	BankonBanking	99.0
4	Secyh62	99.0
5	dosk17	98.9
6	DrApeman	98.9
7	Betsy Massar	98.9
8	CompBanker	98.9
9	GameTheory	98.9
10	Kenny_Powers_CFA	98.8

Elite Career Bootcamp. Top Job Offer Guaranteed.

Elite Career Bootcamp. Top Job Offer Guaranteed.

Non compete plus gardening leave: enforceable in UK?

Score Breakdown

Feedback

Score Breakdown

Feedback

Elite Career Bootcamp. Top Job Offer Guaranteed.

Elite Career Bootcamp. Top Job Offer Guaranteed.

Non compete plus gardening leave: enforceable in UK?

See All Comments - 100% Free

Trending Content - Hedge Fund Forum