Notice, non-competes and garden leave decide when a senior hire can start and what that person may do next. The rules differ in each country and, in two of the four, the law is unsettled, so local legal advice on the actual contract is worth taking.
Who sets a senior executive's notice period?
In practice the employment contract sets it, and the law supplies a default or a limit in some countries.
In Singapore, the Employment Act covers managers and executives. If the contract states no notice period, the Ministry of Manpower (MOM) gives the default by length of service: one day under 26 weeks, one week up to two years, two weeks up to five years, and four weeks from five years. Senior contracts usually state their own period. MOM says the notice period must be the same for employer and employee.
In the UAE, Article 43 of Decree-Law 33 of 2021 is described in press and law-firm sources as requiring notice of at least 30 days and at most 90 days, no matter which side ends the contract. We found no official text to confirm it, so the wording is worth checking.
In India, we found no single statutory notice period for senior managers, so the contract governs. In Indonesia, the contract, company regulation or collective agreement can set notice. Secondary sources say a resigning employee must give at least 30 days' written notice under Government Regulation 35 of 2021, and that a longer contractual period applies if one is stated.
Are post-employment non-competes enforceable in Singapore?
Sometimes. Singapore courts treat a restraint that applies after employment as void unless the employer shows it is reasonable. There is no statute on the point. It is decided case by case under the common law of restraint of trade.
Courts ask two questions. First, does the employer have a legitimate interest to protect, such as trade secrets or client connections? Second, is the restraint reasonable in scope, area and duration, for both parties and for the public? The Court of Appeal dealt with these issues in Man Financial v Wong Bark Chuan [2007] SGCA 53. One law firm reports that restraints of about three to twelve months are typical.
MOM said in 2024, and again in January 2025, that tripartite guidelines on restraint-of-trade clauses were being prepared with the NTUC and the Singapore National Employers Federation. We could not confirm that Tripartite Guidelines on the Use of Restrictive Covenants dated 2025 have been issued. MOM has also said employers should include such clauses only where there is a genuine need to protect legitimate business interests, and its site has the current position.
Non-competes in India
In India, post-employment non-competes are generally not enforceable. Section 27 of the Indian Contract Act 1872 makes void any agreement that restrains a person from a lawful profession, trade or business, with a narrow exception for the sale of goodwill.
Indian courts have held that a non-compete that bites after employment ends is unenforceable. The Supreme Court in Niranjan Shankar Golikari v Century Spinning (1967) accepted restrictions that operate during the employment, such as a duty not to work for others. Confidentiality duties and non-solicitation clauses are treated differently and can be enforced in some cases. Paying compensation for a post-employment restraint has not been enough to save it.
Non-competes in the UAE
In the UAE they can be enforced, but only within the limits of Article 10 of Decree-Law 33 of 2021. The clause must specify the place, time and type of work, and go only as far as needed to protect the employer's legitimate interests.
The restraint may not last more than two years after the contract ends. Courts look at whether a shorter period would do for the role. Law firms report that the employee must have had access to clients or business secrets, and that the Executive Regulations require the geographical scope to be stated.
The clause is void if the employer ends the contract in breach of the Law. An employer's claim for breach is not heard if more than one year has passed since it discovered the breach. Companies in the DIFC and ADGM free zones are reported to apply English-style restraint-of-trade principles instead, so which regime applies depends on where the candidate's employer sits.
Non-competes in Indonesia
In Indonesia they can be enforced, but the position is uncertain. There is no specific statute on employee non-competes, so general contract law applies.
One law firm points to Article 1601x of the Civil Code. It says a restraint on work after employment is valid only if made in writing with an adult employee. A judge may set it aside if it unfairly disadvantages the employee, the employer cannot rely on it after an unlawful termination, and a judge may cut an excessive penalty. Supreme Court decisions are not consistent. One declined to bind an employee on human-rights grounds. Others enforced the clause, including a 12-month restraint in 2023.
Garden leave in each country
Garden leave means the employee serves notice while still employed but is kept away from work, so a competitor cannot use them yet.
In Singapore it rests on the contract, usually through an express clause. The employee in Man Financial was placed on garden leave during a three-month notice period. A law firm notes that offsetting the garden leave against the length of a later restraint may help that restraint hold up.
In India, garden leave during notice, while employment continues, may be enforceable depending on the terms. A clause that operates after the employee leaves the payroll is treated as a restraint under Section 27, as in the Bombay High Court's VFS Global v Suprit Roy.
In the UAE and Indonesia, we found no statutory rule on garden leave, so it would depend on the contract and on the notice rules above.
Can notice be paid in lieu instead of served?
Often yes, where the contract or the law allows it, but one side cannot always impose it on the other.
In Singapore, MOM says that where the contract states a notice period, the employee must serve it or the employer must pay salary in lieu. The parties can also waive notice by mutual written consent. In the UAE, press sources describe compensation equal to the wage for the notice period when notice is not given. In India and Indonesia, we found no statutory rule we could verify, so the contract decides. A new employer cannot require the old employer to accept pay in lieu.
Notice buy-outs
A buy-out is an agreement to shorten notice or release a restraint, usually with money passing between the parties.
None of the four countries has a rule we could find that treats buy-outs as a separate category. They rest on contract and on the notice rules above. In Singapore, the written waiver route applies. In the UAE, a law-firm source reports that Article 43 lets the parties agree to waive or shorten notice. In Indonesia, early termination of a fixed-term contract is reported to require an indemnity equal to the wages for the remaining term. A release from the current employer is usually best obtained in writing before the start date is fixed.
What does a hiring company ask a candidate before an offer?
Hiring companies tend to ask for the exact terms rather than the candidate's summary: the notice clause, any garden leave clause and any pay-in-lieu clause, in writing.
They also ask whether the contract has a non-compete, a non-solicitation clause or a confidentiality clause, how long each lasts, and which country's law and courts apply. In the UAE, whether the employer sits in a free zone matters too.
What the candidate would lose by leaving, such as deferred bonus or unvested equity, and whether the current employer has a record of enforcing its clauses, are usually part of the conversation.
It also helps to know whether the candidate has told the employer, and whether the employer has said it will invoke garden leave or hold them to the full notice.
Offers are often made conditional on the candidate confirming they are free to join without breaching any duty, and a lawyer then reads the clauses.
Questions clients and candidates ask
Can a new employer pay to end a candidate's notice early?
It can ask the current employer to agree, though the current employer need not accept. Any agreement is best in writing and signed before the start date is fixed.
Is a non-compete valid if it is in the contract?
Not automatically. In Singapore and Indonesia a court can refuse to enforce it. In India a post-employment clause is generally void. In the UAE it must meet Article 10.
Does garden leave stop a candidate from starting work elsewhere?
While garden leave runs, the person is still employed, so working for another employer would normally breach the contract. Once the employment ends, only a valid restraint applies.
Do the Singapore tripartite guidelines on restrictive covenants apply yet?
We could not confirm that they have been issued. The last official statement we found said they were still being discussed, so MOM's site is where the current position will show.
Sources
To discuss a search, write to teamsg@maxima.com.sg.
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