A extended notice clause in an employment contract that provides that a departing employee, whether at the volition of the employer or the employee must give or be given an extended period of notice of termination, often ranging from 3 months to as much as 2 years, during which the employee is effectively on paid vacation but cannot take up other employment; they are in effect given time to tend to their garden. Gardening leave is used as a more-likely-to-be legal variation on a non-compete clause in an employment contract; it is more effective in part because it addresses a key public policy objection to such clauses, that a former employee who cannot take up a job can become dependent on public assistance, i.e., a charge on the public purse or public charge.