Settlement agreements are a mechanism in which an employer can offer a package to terminate your employment in return for your agreement to waive a wide range of employment claims that you may have against your employer.
A Settlement Agreement can only be lawful and binding if an employee receives advice from a “relevant independent adviser” before signing the agreement.
All lawyers in our team regularly advise on Settlement Agreements. We are able to advise on the terms and effect of your agreement through a face-to-face meeting or over the telephone. We are able to act for large numbers of employees who have been presented with a settlement agreement from the same employer. We can meet those employees at their employer’s premises to accommodate back to back meetings, where the employer is amenable to this. Negotiating in bulk often provides greater bargaining strength and more efficient correspondence with the employer.
Your employer should pay a contribution towards legal fees so that you do not pay for this ‘run-through’. Where you are in full agreement with the terms being offered, and the Settlement Agreement itself has been properly drafted to reflect these terms, the fees offered are usually sufficient to cover our fees. Please note that our fees for settlement agreements start at £500 plus VAT.
We will advise you if we consider there are terms which should be negotiated, either to provide a more reasonable financial package in light of potential claims that you may have or because there are wider implications of your employment ending, for example:
- announcements
- restrictions on your ability to work for a new employer
- share arrangements
- resignation of senior posts and directorships.
How to instruct us
If you have any questions or wish to discuss how we can help you with your Settlement Agreement, or if you would like to instruct us to deal with your Settlement Agreement, please fill in our dedicated Settlement Agreement form. Alternatively, if you are unable to complete the attached, please call 0330 191 4774 and ask to speak to the employment team.