Google’s No Work, Full Pay Clause: Why DeepMind Employees Are Concerned

The race to launch better AI (Artificial Intelligence) tools is heating up like never before. While ChatGPT 4o made headlines with its image-generating tool, Meta recently launched Llama 4, and Google released its ‘most advanced’ Gemini 2.5 Pro. 

Amid this heated competition, finding talent has become an arduous task for companies. This has prompted Google to take a rather unusual step: the company has tied its DeepMind employees to a ‘garden leave’ clause. What this means is that, in the event of an employee leaving Google, they cannot work for a rival for a period of up to one year. Essentially, the employee is not required to perform any work but will still be paid by the company during that period.

The development was first reported by Business Insider after Nando de Freitas, a vice president at Microsoft AI and a former DeepMind executive, brought the issue to light.

In a post on X, he shared: “Every week, one of you reaches out to me in despair, asking how to escape your notice periods and noncompetes. Also, asking me for a job because your manager has explained this is the way to get promoted. But I digress. Please don’t reach out to me. Rather, reach out to each other. Your leads are responsible for this. Talk to them. @koraykv and @douglas_eck have both said they’re against it, so maybe start there.” 

He criticized such non-compete contracts and advised employees not to sign them: “No American corporation should have that much power, especially in Europe. It’s an abuse of power, which does not justify any end,” he opined. 

DeepMind staff have raised concerns over the matter, stating that while the non-compete clause promises to pay them, it will restrict their career growth. 

Such contracts are not allowed in California. Despite being an American corporation, DeepMind is based in the UK, where such laws are accepted as long as they are seen as fair to both sides. 

DeepMind reportedly told Business Insider that it uses these contracts only when necessary, particularly to protect important or sensitive projects.

Stating that a six-month or one-year pause can make it difficult for employees to catch up in the world of AI, a former DeepMind employee told Business Insider, “Who wants to hire you for a start in a year? That's forever in AI.”