In researching garden leave and payment in lieu of notice it seems that the employee’s employment ends as soon as they are paid in lieu of notice, whereas, if they are put on garden leave and asked not to work during their notice, their employment does not end until the garden leave expires. Therefore my question is what is the difference in practical terms between garden leave and paying an employee in lieu of notice and how is one implemented as opposed to the other, as I always thought they were effectively the same thing?

Payment of notice brings the employment relationship to an end. Garden leave allows the employment relationship to continue for the duration of the notice period. Garden leave is a term used to describe the period when the employee has been instructed to remain away from work whilst still remaining on the payroll. It tends to be used in circumstances where the employer wishes to keep the employee from immediately moving to another [competing] employer and the idea is that, instead of working, the employee is at home or spending time in the garden, hence the term. It may also be used when the employer wishes to remove the employee from the workplace but has no contractual right to pay in