Do I have to pay this?

[WheresTheEvidence]

In January 2017 I lost my job as a nanny. My boss stated that I should sign a settlement contract and that they would pay for a solicitor to oversee this. I went to a local solicitor who read it through I signed and they sent the signed contract to my ex employer.

Today I recieve an email from the law form stating that the bill is still unpaid and that if I dont pay almost £400 by the end of the month they will seek to obtain the costs from me.

So 1 visit January 2017, no correspondence : letters/emails or phone calls, for 3 years and now 1 email stating I owe them £400 to pay by the end of the month.

I have stated I dont have £400 and have been told they will accept £100 if paid by the 31st, but I dont see why if they haven't bothered me for 3 years why I should pay anything.

Do I have to pay them.

Anyone?

Did the settlement agreement say that the employer would pay the invoice? If so then you can sue your old employer for not paying the invoice (small claims) but I'm afraid the primary responsibility is still yours to pay. I'm an employment solicitor.

Check the correspondence from the time. Normally the employer pays the cost of the legal fees.

Normally the employer pays the cost of the legal fees.

No, normally the employer pays at least a contribution (but not always) but the contract is between the employee and the solicitor and so if the employer doesn't pay the employee is still responsible.

OP the fact that 3 years have passed is irrelevant. They have six years to pursue the outstanding sum.

Did you sign a letter of engagement with that firm of solicitors agreeing to pay the bill? Ask them to produce your signed letter of engagement setting out the costs involved. If you didn't sign a letter of engagement tell them to take it up with the person who engaged them to act on your behalf.

Clearly she engaged them though. She said she went to a local solicitor.

I think they've got a bloody cheek asking for it after all this time.

Have they ever sent you a bill or a letter about it? Waiting three years and then sending you a threatening letter just isn't on.

Why on earth do they have a bloody cheek. They did the work, the invoice wasn't paid.

@WheresTheEvidence
Check in the settlement agreement what it says regarding fees; as a general rule when it comes to these types of things the employers pick up the solicitor's fees.

Secondly, have you received an Invoice from the solicitors, who is the invoice addressed to?

If you have not received it, write to them stating this, and say you want a copy asap with a full breakdown of how the fees were incurred.

If fees incurred relate to Emails/telephone calls etc, ask for copies of the emails and notes made following the telephone calls.

£400.00 seems an awful lot of fees for just reading through an Agreement (which are pretty much standard) and advising you on the same.

Hope you get it sorted

£400 (particularly since its vat inclusive) is perfectly normal as a fee for a settlement agreement and the settlement agreement wording is irrelevant since that is an agreement between the employee and the employer. The OP entered into an agreement with the solicitor. Therefore we try to recover the fees from the employer as per the agreement but they don't always pay and if they don't then the fees are the responsibility of the employee.

@kjhkj it isn't clear at all from what the OP said who actually retained the solicitors. If the op actually instructed them and signed a letter of engagement which said she was responsible for their fees then she has to pay. She may be able to bring a small claims action against her former employer for failing to pay this bill depending upon whether she has evidence to support her claim. If she didn't sign a letter of engagement and it was clear from the outset that they had agreed for the fees to be paid by a third party she is right to dispute it.

in my experience there is generally a clause in the agreement that states the fees for advise under the Settlement Agreement is paid for by the employer. If OP has entered into an agreement with the solicitors for this advice, then she would have had a Terms of Engagement Letter setting out hourly rates and/or how much she would be charged for the advice should a capped fee have been agreed.

The fact that she is so surprised by this demand leads me to believe that no such agreement has been entered into with the solicitors....if she had received and signed a T&C's letter, there would be no shock at having to pay solicitor's fees.

Personally i think £400 is a lot, VAT inclusive or not, for advice regarding a settlement agreement. The meeting takes approximately, 15-20 minutes, half hour at most maybe

I once had to sign a settlement agreement and I engaged my own solicitor.

However, it was explicitly stated in the agreement that the costs would be borne by my employer and so I didn't need to sign an engagement letter with the solicitor.

Check the wording in your settlement agreement OP, if it says your employer will pay then direct your solicitor to them and send them a copy of the agreement.

I give up. I deal with these every single working day. The settlement agreement is an agreement between the employee and the employer. the employer might breach the agreement as they have done here, That is then for the employee to act upon so that she doesn't get lumbered with the fees the employer said they would pay. Its unfortunate and it doesn't happen often but sometimes it does.

A settlement agreement does not take 15-20 minutes

If the solicitor was retained by the employer then they are not an independent solicitor for the purposes of signing off the settlement agreement. This is a small employer (using a nanny) and so the chances of their being some sort of bulk fee arrangement with the supplier is next to zero.

As you wish though. Go ahead and refuse to pay it OP and find yourself in court.

*there

it isn't clear at all from what the OP said who actually retained the solicitors

It is absolutely clear. The employer cannot retain a solicitor on behalf of the employee. The solicitor is there to provide independent advice to the employee so must be retained by the employee.

Even if the agreement says that the solicitor's fees will be paid by the employer, the solicitor cannot pursue the employer for payment. They do not have a contract with the employer. If the employer fails to pay the solicitor has to pursue the employee. The employee can then take action against the employer for their breach of the agreement.

And a settlement agreement involves more than just a 15-20 minute meeting. The employee's solicitor will discuss the matter with the employee, review the proposed agreement, discuss how it should be improved with the employee, write to the employer asking for some changes and review the final agreement with the employee.

It is a shame that once again we have someone asking for legal advice getting responses from people who are guessing and telling an actual lawyer that they are wrong.