With thousands of jobs being cut in recent weeks it is understandably many employees will want to be advised on their legal rights should their job be put ‘at risk’.
It is increasingly common to find that, rather than follow a formal redundancy procedure, companies are offering their employees Settlement Agreements in order to bring an employee’s employment to an end. Typically, the Settlement Agreement will involve the employee giving up their legal right to bring a claim in an employment tribunal against their employer for failing to follow the correct redundancy process and, in exchange, the employee will accept a sum of money known as a “Termination Payment”. The termination payment may include a tax-free element which can prove an incentive for an employee to sign a Settlement Agreement. Employers usually offer to pay for an employee to seek independent legal advice on the terms of a settlement agreement and this is a service that we offer our clients.
To go through the terms of the settlement agreement we can be arrange either a face-to-face meeting or this can be done on the telephone and we will advise you as to whether the terms that you are being offered in the Settlement Agreement are fair according to your circumstances.
To be legally binding settlement agreements must be signed by the employee, the employee’s legal adviser (typically a solicitor holding a practicing certificate at a firm with indemnity insurance for the advice they provide) and the employer. Once the parties have signed the Settlement Agreement the document becomes legally binding. Some of the advantages of signing a settlement agreement is obtaining an agreed reference, a tax-free payment and agreeing to part with your employer on friendly terms. Often individuals do not want to take part in stressful and uncertain redundancy consultations which can be draining, and demotivating and we can advise on the terms that you are being offered and let you know whether you are being offered a fair deal.
Summerfield Browne have offices in Leicester, Birmingham, London, Oxford, Cambridge and Market Harborough.
