Disability Discrimination Settlement Agreement
I recently assisted a client with a Settlement Agreement. She had been in dispute with her employer over her employer’s failure to make reasonable adjustments for her disability.
My Client’s Story
When I met with my client she had been in dispute with her employer for some time. Matters had come to a head when her employer offered her three months’ salary to give up her employment and sign a Settlement Agreement waiving her right to bring any claim against them.
She booked in with me to, in her words, “check through” the Settlement Agreement. When we met, I went through the background of her situation and explained the purpose of the Settlement Agreement. Particularly, that if she were to sign, her employment would end and she would not be able to bring any claims at the Employment Tribunal against her employer.
Disabled Status and Reasonable Adjustments
I then went through the claims I believed she had and how much I thought they were worth. She had repeatedly asked for assistance and gone through a whole grievance procedure to try and get modest changes to her hours of work and inexpensive equipment to assist her as a disabled person. Instead of helping her, her requests for reasonable adjustments as a disabled person had been refused by her employer and she was being threatened with a formal performance management process.
I was very concerned that for a few months’ pay she was considering ending her employment and losing her job security. Also, as part of the Settlement Agreement she would be giving away all her Employment Tribunal claims and giving her employers the safety of knowing she could not take action against them. During our appointment she was very distressed, she hadn’t understood the strength of her position and had believed the company’s HR Adviser when they said she was getting a good deal.
Renegotiation
She did not want to return to work and instructed me to renegotiate her Settlement Agreement. Several letters and emails later, we had a new Settlement Agreement package equivalent to a full year’s gross pay. Her employer also reimbursed her legal fees so not only did she get a substantially increased compensation payment, my work didn’t cost her anything.
Lincs Law Employment Solicitors
If you have been given a Settlement Agreement, make sure you are being properly compensated for the rights and claims you are agreeing to give away. Please call Lincs Law Solicitors on 01522 440512 for a free consultation to discuss your situation. As specialist employment law solicitors, we can advise you where you stand and help you make an informed decision about your offer. For more information about Settlement Agreements, please visit our website at https://lincslaw.co.uk/services/settlement-agreement/
Sally Hubbard
Specialist Employment Solicitor
Lincs Law Employment Solicitors, Lincoln.
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