North London Solicitors

NORTH LONDON EMPLOYMENT LAW SOLICITOR – FAQS FOR COMPROMISE AGREEMENTS

North London Compromise Agreement FAQs

What is a compromise agreement?

You can use a compromise agreement where you want to dismiss an employee and avoid legal action being take out against e.g. for unfair dismissal.  To induce the employee to waive their legal right to take you to court or an employment tribunal, you will have to pay the employee a certain amount of compensation (a solicitor can help you decide on the appropriate levels).  Compromise agreements can be used in a whole host of situations, including redundancies, cases where an employee is unfit to work, cases where an employee leaves because some underlying issue/grievance has not been solved, and cases where an employee decides to leave after taking maternity or paternity leave.

What legal claims can an employee agree to waive?

Virtually all legal claims against you can be waived.  However, claims for personal injury, breach of the agreement itself and claims related to pensions are the exception.

Does the employee have to seek legal advice?

The law sees employees as being in a weaker bargaining position than employers.  For this reason, employees being offered a compromise agreement must seek legal advice.

Who pays for the employee’s legal advice?

It is up to you.  There is no law that states that employers have to pay their employee’s legal costs.  However, to sufficiently entice an employee to sign the agreement and thus waive certain claims, it is generally customary for employers to pay their employees legal costs or at least make a contribution towards them.

Do advice from persons other than solicitors constitute “independent” legal advice?

Yes the employee can get advice from trade union officials and advice centre workers.

I want the agreement to be kept a secret.  How can I achieve this?

You can include a confidentiality clause in the agreement which depending on how the clause is phrased will either oblige the employee to keep the content of the agreement or the very existence of the agreement itself secret.

Why should I get advice on a compromise agreement?

By getting legal advice, you will ensure that:

• The agreement is properly drafted and worded
• The package you have offered is appropriate

Through your solicitor, you will also be able to negotiate the agreement where there are any disagreements.