gardening leave 
noun [mass noun] British
An employee’s suspension from work on full pay for the duration of a notice period, typically to prevent them from having any further influence on the organization or from accessing confidential information.He said: ‘I am very excited at the prospect of working with clients after my 12 month period of gardening leave.’...
- She quit her post at Merrill Lynch in May and has been serving out a period of gardening leave ahead of her September start at EFM.
- First, for me personally it signalled the end of 18 years of leading the fight against drugs in sport in the UK and a further seven months of gardening leave waiting for my employment with UK Sport to finally come to an end.