Settlement advice

[Roo84]

Looking for some help / advise.
Someone I know has been put on 'gardening leave' for a month. They have been offered 2 months pay after (that is their first settlement offer), they have been told that they accepts the offer or will be dismissed over gross misconduct. (This allegation is questionable as advised by a solicitor). The whole matter is complex and the employer has accepted some liability for lack of education/guidance which has led to the errors made by the employer in a formal interview that took place.
Should they accept the offer? Which equates to around £7k (incl the months gardening leave) or try to request more?
Can the original offer be taken away by the employer? That's his concern. That he pushes for more and ends up with nothing.
Solicitors have advised that they do have a case for tribunal, but my friend doesn’t want to go down that route due to a huge amount of stress, cost etc. it’s a really messy situation which is causing my friend a huge amount of stress and will likely have a lasting effect on their future employment / career due to the nature of work.
The settlement will have a 'do not talk about this' clause in it also, and they are willing to provide a basic reference.

Any advise?

They should take advice from their solicitor. They are far better placed to advise than anyone on here.

The employer could take away the original offer, in which case your friend will have to go to tribunal. However, if this is the employer's first offer, it is unlikely to be their last.

It comes down to this: logically this won’t be the only offer. There are risks for the employer too if no settlement can be reached. But you have to set against that the discomfort and the uncertainty and the waiting and how your friend copes with such things. We can’t advise, we don’t know enough about the legal issues and we can’t weigh up the risk. I can say that these matters are always really stressful. Will your friend be able to look back in a while and say, I should have stick out for me, or will they say, I got what I needed in difficult circumstances?

Thanks both for your replies. It's certainly been a very stressful time and they are hoping for a resolution soon.
I think they are going to speak to the solicitor again tomorrow with a view to trying to negotiate further, and see how it goes. It's just a cruel situation as it's something they have worked very hard to get into.
From listening to the situation its hard to believe employees can act in the way they have! I count myself lucky to have not had to encounter something like that...and hope I never do.

Any compromise agreement with the employer should include paying at least something towards legal fees for your friend.

Hi @Roo84

How did things go in the end ? Hope your friend managed to get a fair settlement?

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