I rode on the train this morning with a neighbor who is a Managing Director at a Wall Street firm. He is switching companies, and just handed in his resignation. However, he does not start his new position for another 90 days.
It seems that most Wall Street companies are imposing a minimum number of days that you have to stay with a firm when you give your notice. In his case, he had to give 90 days notice. However, his current employer must pay him for the entire 90 days.
His current employer wants him out of the office as fast as possible, so that he does not have the chance to do any internal recruiting. So, he gets to sit at home for 3 months and collect a paycheck.
From what he told me, this practice has been prevalent in Europe, and is just starting to make the rounds in the United States. He told me that it is referred to as "Garden Leave", because the only thing you can do for 3 months is putt around in your garden.
©2006 Marc Adler - All Rights Reserved
1 comment:
Yes, it is a common practice in Europe. Firstly, annual leave over there is a minimum of 4 weeks (6 weeks or more in Germany) so this is the minimum notice a low level person has to give. As you go up the corporate ladder each promotion adds 2 weeks or more to the notice period. A senior VP/Managing Director has to give 3 months or more notice.
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