Coronavirus and Settlement Agreements

Our Employment Team at Prince Evans, is open for business as usual and is advising employees via FaceTime and Zoom on proposed Settlement Agreements and arranging for these to be signed remotely

Businesses across the UK continue to suffer losses of workloads and revenue by reason of Coronavirus.  Even with the talk of the end of the lockdown, business levels are not going to immediately return; hence, job losses and redundancy are inevitable

Many employers will seek to offer employees Settlement Agreements 

Settlement Agreements set out the terms on which an employee’s employment will end.  The Agreement records the amount of money and other benefits the employee will receive, in return for giving up the majority of employment claims they may have against their employer

 
In order to be valid and enforceable, the employee must receive independent legal advice on the Settlement Agreement, which incorporates a certificate to be signed by the solicitor 

It may be that an employee does not agree with the terms of the Settlement Agreement, or wishes to seek an enhancement on the money or other benefits, we can assist with negotiations in this respect and the amendment of the Settlement Agreement

Legal fees – it is usual for the employer to include a term in the Settlement Agreement that it will pay the legal fees; accordingly, it will not usually cost the employee anything to seek independent advice and sign the Settlement Agreement

If you have any queries, please contact a member of our Employer Team, or Anthony Best, Head of Dispute Resolution