I'll bet you there is.
@Beamrider ?
To be clear. Players can be sacked and hired (if not already contracted) so it's the actual 'transfer' that is the problem (an agreement between leagues not to register players unless within a specific timeframe).
However to apply that to managers (that aren't on gardening leave) simply isn't feasible without incurring the wrath of numerous authorities under 'restraint of trade'. Players that are sacked can also sign for another club.
Maybe Beamrider can confirm that ... or otherwise.
I don't think it would work for managers and therefore clubs would never go for it. If your star striker is having a rough time, you bench him and put the next best option in the team, you just can't do that with managers, much as it would have been amusing to see Everton forced to keep hold of Frank until the end of the season.
There's also no standard contract for managers like there is with players, so it's all down to what the individual manager / agent negotiate. I do think it would make sense to have some degree of standardised arrangements, including a process for agreeing compensation where a club poaches another club's manager (i.e. non-negotiable clauses that would have to be included in contracts). I just don't see a situation where clubs will be happy to have to make do with what they've got until the next window.
On the restraint of trade issues, I'm not sure that's in point. If a manager has a contract then he's bound by the terms of that contract, just as any employee would be. If there is an enforced gardening leave situation then that's probably constructive dismissal or something similar (removing him from his post), but the usual recourse in that situation is to sue for damages and the club continuing to pay him means he probably has no cause of action against the club (no financial damage, other than possible performance bonuses).
If another club comes along and offers him more cash then he's at liberty to breach the existing contract if he really wants to and that's when the compensation process kicks in - current club agrees to release him from the contract on receipt of a payment from the new employer, otherwise the former club will seek damages against the departing manager (although probably minimal in that situation).
But again, all of this is down to how the contract is negotiated in the first place. If the manager or his agent is smart, they'll agree a clause that pays him off if he is removed from post. The club, by contrast, will want the gardening leave option as it enables them to:
- Delay the payment of wages over the remaining term of the contract
- Potentially secure a fee if another club wants him
- Discharge some or all of remaining wage liability at the point he takes a new job
How generous the terms are is a pure negotiating position and it's always open to the parties to agree a compromise. If they had a standard contract, like the players do, then none of that would be possible.
The terms of the players' deals, which favour them, are a result of them being unionised via the PFA. Feel free to applaud or get angry with that according to your political persuasion. Personally I think it's a good thing for those lower down the pecking order, but it can be dysfunctional for the better-paid lads.
Finally, bear in mind that, on average, clubs might do a contract for a manager every 2-3 years (more frequently this season obviously) but they might do 40-50 player deals every year, so it makes sense not to have to negotiate for players and to have flexibility in how they do a manager's deal.