Have you been offered a Settlement Agreement?

You should be wary if you are approached by your employer with an offer for you to leave. The terms are not binding on you until you have taken legal advice and the document signed but it would be unwise for you to indicate to your employer that you are prepared to end your employment as we may well be able to negotiate a better outcome for you. You cannot be coerced into accepting a settlement agreement and the ACAS code recommends a period of 10 days for you to consider any offer made to you.

Cost.

In most cases the agreement will specify that the employer is responsible for your costs and we will invoice them directly. We will agree with you in advance if there will be any additional costs incurred by Dawson Employment Law that you will need to pay.

Dawson Employment Law is authorised by the Law Society to advise employees on Settlement Agreements.

What is a Settlement Agreement?

A written  agreement (formerly known as a compromise agreement) whereby an employee agrees not to pursue claims against the employer or ex-employer usually in return for a termination payment.

It may record an employee's terms of departure such as a leaving date, agreed reference, accrued holiday payment and any other benefits the employee will receive. It may also record agreements to confidentiality or post-employment restrictions.

When might an employer offer a Settlement Agreement?

Settlement Agreements may be offered in many situations, whether during or after employment. They may, for example, be used to avoid a drawn-out process for redundancy, performance or disciplinary which can often be costly and time-consuming for the employer and lead to ongoing conflict with the employee.

An employer may also consider offering a Settlement Agreement where there is an existing dispute with an employee as a means of bringing that dispute to a close.