Google Is Hiring Techies And Paying Them To Do Nothing For A Year: Report

Last Updated:April 09, 2025, 11:02 IST

Google is hiring people on lengthy non-compete agreements in order to get a competitive edge in AI.

The competition to recruit top-tier talent in the field is on the rise. (Representative Image)

Tech companies are rolling out smarter AI tools at a rapid pace. Google recently unveiled its most “advanced" model yet — Gemini 2.5 Proo, boasting significant improvements in coding, mathematics, and visual comprehension. As the race to build better AI intensifies, so does the competition to recruit top-tier talent in the field.

Interestingly, Google has made an odd move in the midst of this rush: it is compensating some of its employees for doing nothing. A Business Insider report claims that Google is getting employees in the UK to sign non-compete clauses that prohibit them from working for rival companies, then placing them on extended leave—basically, paying them to do nothing.

These are referred to as “garden leave"—a corporate limbo in which employees stay on the payroll but are prohibited from contributing to any work, whether for Google or anyone else. Several employees were allegedly placed on extended leave after signing the agreements, during which Google DeepMind paid them, but they were not allowed to work for the duration of their non-compete agreement, which might last up to 12 months.

According to a Business Insider report citing four former employees who chose to remain anonymous, certain Google DeepMind staff in the UK are restricted by non-compete clauses. These agreements prevent employees from joining rival companies for a specified period after signing their contracts, effectively tying them to their current employer.

The issues were revealed when Nando de Freitas, the vice president of Microsoft AI and a former director of DeepMind, posted on X (previously Twitter) about how these employees had contacted them.

“Every week one of you reaches out to me in despair to ask me 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," Freitas wrote on X.

“Above all don’t sign these contracts. No American corporation should have that much power, especially in Europe. It’s abuse of power, which does not justify any end," Freitas added in his post.

According to two former employees, several senior researchers have been placed on yearlong leave, double the typical six-month non-compete period usually applied to DeepMind staff and those working on Google’s Gemini AI models.

Meanwhile, Google asserted that its agreements, however, were in line with industry norms. “Our employment contracts are in line with market standards. Given the sensitive nature of our work, we use non-competes selectively to protect our legitimate interests," a Google representative said in a statement to Business Insider.

Delhi, India, India

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