settlement agreement solicitors in london

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settlement agreement lawyers in london

As settlement agreement solicitors in London we can provide you with the support you need when it comes to settlement agreements. Settlement agreements are legal contracts. Where there is a settlement agreement between employer and employee the employee gives up their right to bring any legal claims against their employer usually in exchange for payment of compensation and often other benefits such as an agreed reference.

An agreement may be used to end an individual’s employment, although sometimes an employee will continue working for their employer even after signing a settlement agreement. Settlement agreement solicitors can explain all of this to you in very simple terms.

The settlement agreement will set out the terms and conditions each party is accepting and will often include the following as a bare minimum:

  • Termination date of employment
  • Compensation to be paid to the employee
  • Any outstanding holiday which an employee has accrued but not taken
  • Notice pay (where an employee is being paid in lieu of notice)
  • Details of any reference that will be given to prospective employers
  • Any obligations that an employee will continue to be subject to after their employment ends

Settlement agreement law can mean that documents are quite lengthy, as employers want to make sure they have included all of the necessary terms to try and reduce the risk of an employee subsequently trying to bring a claim. Employers are protecting their legal position.

Not only is signing a settlement agreement usually a much quicker and less stressful way to resolve a dispute with your employer, you can agree terms which an Employment Tribunal does not have the power to award, for instance an agreed reference, agreement to leave without working your notice and so on.

For a settlement agreement to be legally binding, an employee must get independent settlement agreement legal advice before signing it. An employee should be given sufficient time to consider whether or not to sign the agreement (ACAS suggest at least 10 days), and often an employer will contribute towards an employee’s legal fees for obtaining advice. Settlement agreement solicitors in London will tell you everything you need to know before you sign.

At didlaw, we are experienced in advising employees on settlement agreement law and have an excellent track record of negotiating improved offers of settlement from employers.

We are settlement agreement lawyers in London and nationwide. Settlement agreement employment law is what we do. Get in touch today.

Find further useful information on settlement agreements below:

ACAS Early Conciliation

Early conciliation is a free and independent service offered by ACAS which can help you resolve an employment dispute with your employer. ACAS stands for the Advisory, Conciliation and Arbitration Service.

In any event, before lodging a claim with the Tribunal, you must contact ACAS and go through their Early Conciliation process by completing their Notification Form online. Here is the link https://tell.acas.org.uk/find-a-solution-to-your-employment-dispute.

If you do not contact ACAS before lodging your claim with the Employment Tribunal, it will be rejected.

You must contact ACAS on or preferably before the deadline to lodge your Employment Tribunal claims, which is usually three months less one day after the last act you want to complain about. For instance, if you were dismissed on 18 June 2020, you would have to bring a claim no later than 17 September 2020. In certain circumstances it may be possible to rely on a continuing series of acts and the deadline would start from the date of the last act in this series. However, we do recommend that you seek legal advice to ensure you know what are the right time limits are for any claims you may have, as it can be difficult to work out.

Provided you contact ACAS before the deadline, going through the Early Conciliation process extends the time in which you have to file your claim. There are however complicated rules as to how long the time limit is/can be extended, and therefore we do again recommend you get proper legal advice.

Once you have completed the Early Conciliation Notification form, an ACAS officer will contact you and ask for details about the dispute. If you agree, ACAS will contact your employer and give the parties the opportunity to try and resolve the dispute without going to the Tribunal. If either you or your employer does not want to try and resolve the dispute informally, or the dispute cannot be resolved, ACAS will issue an Early Conciliation certificate. You need to keep this safe as you will need its reference number if you decide to lodge a claim with the Tribunal.

One last word, if you submit your own Early Conciliation Notification form, make sure you get the name of your employer correct. Claims have been disallowed because the correct entity for the employer was not filed against – we wouldn’t want that to happen to you.

Click here for the ACAS information on early conciliation: https://www.acas.org.uk/early-conciliation

The CAB website is also excellent, particularly for explaining the quite complicated rules around time limits: https://www.citizensadvice.org.uk/work/problems-at-work/using-early-conciliation/

There is a wealth of useful information available online, and lots of free advice to steer you in the right direction.

ACAS

Useful guidance on their Equality page around Disability Discrimination and other kinds of discrimination. They have a simple question and answer format on the website covering common questions arising and an excellent telephone helpline 08457 47 47 47 which is managed from Monday-Friday, 8am-8pm and Saturday, 9am-1pm.

Rights at work. https://www.acas.org.uk

Employment/Work Issueshttps://www.citizensadvice.org.uk/work/

 

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