Google is reportedly paying techies to do nothing for a year

Smarter AI solutions are being released by IT businesses at a rapid rate. With notable advancements in coding, math, and visual perception, Google just launched Gemini 2.5 Pro, its most "advanced" model to date. The rivalry to get the best expertise in the sector is getting more fierce as the race to develop superior AI gets more intense.

It's interesting to note that Google is paying some of its employees for doing nothing, which is a strange move in the middle of this hurry. According to a Business Insider article, Google is allegedly paying its UK employees to do nothing by forcing them to sign non-compete agreements that forbid them from working for competitors and then putting them on prolonged leave.

These are known as "garden leave," a corporate limbo where workers are paid but are not allowed to contribute to any projects, whether they are for Google or another company. After signing the agreements, a number of workers were allegedly put on extended vacation, during which Google DeepMind compensated them, but they were prohibited from working for the term of their non-compete agreement, which might last up to 12 months.

Some Google DeepMind employees in the UK are bound by similar non-compete agreements, according to four former workers who wished to remain anonymous and spoke to Business Insider. By agreeing not to work for a rival firm for a predetermined amount of time after signing the contract, these agreements bind employees to a corporation.

Nando de Freitas, the vice president of Microsoft AI and a former director of DeepMind, revealed the problems on X after sharing accounts of these workers contacting him.

Companies are launching AI tech within weeks of each other and such aggressive non-compete agreements can help a company like Google gain a competitive edge over a rival. Meanwhile, Google asserted that its agreements, however, were in line with industry norms.