An Employer may ask an Employee to sign a Settlement Agreement following the end of their employment with the business. A Settlement Agreement is often used whether or not the end of the employment contract has been disputed or whether the Employer and Employee are on good terms, as the Agreement can provide peace of mind for Employer and Employee alike by setting out the parties' obligations to one another following the end of the employment relationship.

A Settlement Agreement is quite a unique document as the Employee will often agree that they will not make any claim based on their statutory rights (eg: their right not to be discriminated against for disability, gender etc) in return for a financial payment.

Due to the serious implications of ‘signing away’ an Employee’s statutory rights, the Employee must take independent advice from a qualified solicitor before they can properly sign the Agreement. When we advise Employees who are signing a Settlement Agreement we consider whether that Employee has any potential claim against their Employer and advise on the value of that potential claim. This sometimes means that the Employee should negotiate for a higher settlement value than that the Employer has offered due to the nature of the potential claim.

To arrange an appointment to discuss with our specialist lawyers please contact the Employment Department secretary Viki Summers.

Telephone: 01494 864650
Email: viki@dc-kaye.co.uk