A Settlement Agreement is a contract between an employer and an employee which, usually, sets out terms for the employee to give up their job, their employment rights and any Employment Tribunal claims they may have in exchange for a compensatory payment from their employer.

Settlement Agreements are offered by employers for many different reasons and accepted by employees for many reasons more. Sometimes the offer is as a result of a dispute, sometimes it is to speed up a restructure of the company, sometimes it is an amicable parting of the ways. Whatever the reason, you need to make sure you are making the right decision for you. To do this, you need your solicitor to fully explain and discuss the Settlement Agreement with you.

Whether you sign a Settlement Agreement is your choice. Obviously, every client’s circumstances are unique, but a game of “what if you don’t sign?” usually helps to clarify your options. We have had clients who thought they had to sign the Settlement Agreement, but when we talked through the background together their situation was not as they believed. You can only make an informed decision if you know all your options.

Make sure you are actually getting some compensation for giving up your job and all your employment rights. When discussing the compensation payment, the first part of the process is to identify what payments you would be entitled to in any event. We look at notice, holiday, bonuses, long service awards, car allowance, pension contributions, redundancy payments etc. To be blunt, there is no need for you to sign a Settlement Agreement and subject yourself to all sorts of waivers and obligations if you are simply receiving the payments you are already entitled to.

Make sure you understand what your obligations are under the terms Settlement Agreement.  Usually, you will be giving up your employment and waiving and settling your employment rights and claims as you would expect.  However, all sorts of additional requirements and indemnities sneak into these types of contracts. Again, whether you sign the Settlement Agreement is your decision, but a decision you can only make if you are fully aware of your obligations.

In most circumstances, your employer will have to make a compensation payment to you by a certain date.  However, you should also think about any provisions you might want in the Settlement Agreement.  Clients are often surprised that they can negotiate for terms they want in the contract.  We will often discuss with clients any restrictive covenants in their Contract of Employment, and we will seek to have them released from those obligations as part of the Settlement Agreement.  Sometimes we will discuss including references; health insurance; buying their company car; keeping tablets or laptops; keeping mobile phone numbers; in fact, anything which is important to the client.  The Settlement Agreement is an important document and often the terms of the agreement itself are the only chance to include the provisions you want.

If you have been offered a Settlement Agreement and would like a free, no-obligation consultation with an employment solicitor to discuss your situation, just complete a contact form, engage in a webchat, email at contactus@lincslaw.com or simply call us on 01522 440512

Usually, your employer will agree to pay for advice regarding your Settlement Agreement up to a certain amount.  We are fully transparent about our charges and offer fixed fees for reviewing and advising on Settlement Agreements.  If you want to make sure that your employer’s contribution will be sufficient to obtain legal advice about your Settlement Agreement, please visit our website page at https://lincslaw.co.uk/fees/settlement-agreements/  for full details of our fees and charges.

Broadly our charges are dependent upon which of our experienced employment solicitors you would like to engage.  More information about the team at Lincs Law Employment Solicitors can be found on our website page at https://lincslaw.co.uk/about/our-team/

If you have been offered a Settlement Agreement and would like a free, no-obligation consultation with an employment solicitor to discuss your situation, just complete a contact form, engage in a webchat, email at contactus@lincslaw.com or simply call us on 01522 440512

How you would like to engage Lincs Law Employment Solicitors is entirely a matter for you. Inevitably, some sort of appointment will be required so that we can fully understand the detail of your situation and go through the detail of the Settlement Agreement. However, we are happy to arrange those appointments at a time and in a way that is convenient to you.

For clients who prefer face to face meetings, we would be happy to meet with you at our offices at Greetwell Place, Lime Kiln Way, Lincoln, LN2 4US.

For those clients who are happy to undertake appointments remotely, we are happy to arrange for video link or telephone at the client’s preference.

If you have been offered a Settlement Agreement and would like a free, no-obligation consultation with an employment solicitor to discuss your situation, just complete a contact form, engage in a web chat, email at contactus@lincslaw.com or simply call us on 01522 440512

 Lincs Law Employment Solicitors are open from 8.30am to 5.30pm Monday to Friday, and 9.30am to 12.00pm on Saturdays. If you would like to contact us or arrange an appointment with us during those hours, we would be delighted to help. If these hours are not convenient for you, we can arrange for early morning or evening appointments to assist.

If you have been offered a Settlement Agreement and would like a free, no-obligation consultation with an employment solicitor to discuss your situation, just complete a contact form, engage in a web chat, email at contactus@lincslaw.com or simply call us on 01522 440512