I've been offered a settlement agreement: Do I need legal advice? | Paul Doran Law

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I’ve been offered a settlement agreement: Do I need legal advice?

A settlement agreement (or compromise agreement in Northern Ireland) waives your right to make a claim against your employer at an employment tribunal or court, usually in return for a payment.

But do you need to take legal advice before you accept (or reject) it?

The short answer is yes. You do need to take independent legal advice, otherwise the settlement agreement isn’t legally binding.

Conditions that make a settlement agreement legally binding

As employment lawyers who only act on behalf of employees, obviously, we can help!

Back to basics

Settlement agreements are used to resolve a workplace dispute, or to end the employment relationship. Usually, it’s the employer who offers the settlement to the employee, although it can happen the other way around.

If your employment is ending, here are some things that the settlement agreement might include:

Do I have to accept it?

It’s important to note that settlement agreements are voluntary.

If you’re offered a settlement agreement, you don’t have to agree to it. You don’t even have to enter into a discussion about it if you don’t want to.

Either way, you must be given a reasonable amount of time to consider the proposed conditions. For this, Acas recommends at least 10 calendar days, unless you and your employer agree otherwise.

You can enter into negotiations in an attempt to reach agreement. If you don’t reach agreement, you could:

 What happens?

Your employer must follow a fair process along the Acas guidelines. Otherwise, if they dismiss you, you may be able to make a claim for unfair dismissal.

For example, they should invite you to a meeting to discuss the agreement. They might allow you to bring a work colleague or trade union representative to help you at the meeting, but this is not your statutory right.

If you and your employer can’t reach agreement, and you go on to make a claim for unfair dismissal or about any other dispute, discussions that happened around the settlement can’t be used as evidence.

Need help?

For a FREE assessment of your claim, call 0808 168 7288 or fill in the contact form on the top right of this page.

We have already helped thousands of people to win millions of pounds in compensation.

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We will also discuss the best methods of funding your case and seek to reach a solution that best suits your needs. This can involve a “no-win, no-fee” agreement if appropriate.

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