Settlement agreement? Any experiences or advice?

[ahhhhbums]

My DH has been having performance related problems at work. He has been through the performance improvement process and is nearing the final deadline after which his employment will be terminated. He has recently been diagnosed with depression which they won't take into account because it wasn't diagnosed when the performance improvement plan started. Occupational health have also deemed him fit to work even though they have stated that his performance might be affected along with memory & concentration.

To cut a long story short, he has now, with a few weeks left before "the end", been offered a settlement agreement. Company will provide legal advice. Does anyone know if the lawyer will help you to determine whether the amount of the settlement is fair? Or will they just explain that taking the settlement means you waive your right to start legal proceedings against the company?

So confused and he hasn't been able to contact the union rep for advice either. We have no idea what a reasonable settlement should be.

Any experiences or advice would be gratefully received, thanks.

The company will not provide legal advice - the advice has to be independent and from a lawyer of his choosing. They will simply make a contribution towards the cost of that advice.

A good lawyer will discuss his case and whether the amount offered is reasonable in the circumstances and, if not, deal with any further negotiations on his behalf. However, some high street lawyers do just expect to spend half an hour talking through the terms of the agreement for a quick buck. Make sure your DH instructs a decent employment specialist and he should be fine.

However, companies will usually only contribute to fees up to a nominal amount(about an hours time) so you may need to be prepared to pay for further time/advice. However a good lawyer will be worth the extra fees if they can negotiate a better deal for your DH.

How much have they offered him to sign?

He can do some negotiating himself - depending on his notice period that is the minimum (ie if dismissed, he would be issued notice); and for signing away his rights too would also be worth a little more (however may depend on length of service).

As pp said, you'll probably get around £300-£400 supplement to a solicitor of your choice. Go with a recommendation in your area for an employment lawyer (or google / LinkedIn). Some will say sign and close, a decent one will try to get more (ie benefits for notice period, employment support service etc)

He hasn't had the offer yet, hopefully details will be finalised soon. We were just wondering if we needed to get our own lawyer first but now I understand about the contribution towards the solicitor from the company, we can wait until details are finalised. Have been googling and looking on the law society website but I have no idea how to identify a "good" employment solicitor. Will anyone with a specialism in employment be suitable?

Thanks for all the advice

Google Employment Law Solicitor or put that in LinkedIn and several will come up.

A "good" one would come with recommendations really, so ask around.

You don't need to get one yet; although to be honest, the Company may say we'll sent the settlement agreement directly to the solicitor, in which case you will. The Company should have at least had a discussion with your DP about the agreement contents, but perhaps they'd prefer to deal with the solicitor.

Where do you live and I might be able to recommend one. PM me.

When you google, put the name of your town or city.

We went through this a few years ago. It was the most awful, stressful time so you have my sympathy.
We got an employment lawyer and he was worth every penny. He stopped us being steam rolled by the company into accepting the first settlement offered. He also negotiated the wording of an agreed reference which was crucial to be able to move forward. Because of that my DH got another, better paid, job and everything is good.
Good luck.

I had a settlement agreement following bullying a few years ago. I think the amount offered depends on length of service, notice period and whether the company is responsible for his problems or not.

I was only paid a bit more than my notice period, as it was a very stressful experience I accepted the second offer they made (initially they offered to pay my notice period, that increased slightly on advice of my solicitor). If I had pushed harder they may have chosen the tribunal route, which would have been even more stressful.

Good luck!

Definitely need to ensure you receive:

• good reference (agreed wording should be provided)
• Employee Support Assistance (HR Consultants offer this, i.e. CV writing, interview preperation, confidence building etc) Normally c450
• pro rata of benefits within the settlement for the duration of notice period, i.e. 3 month notice period = 3 months accrued holiday and cost benefit of any other benefits such as health insurance etc.

Thank you so much for all the advice everyone. I will pm you BictoriaVeckham.

Sorry to hear about your experiences MrsMrytleMarple and cherryade8, you're right; it's an incredibly stressful experience. I do worry that he will struggle to find another job as it can be difficult enough at the best of times but throw depression into the mix and it will be even harder. Employee Support Assistance will be incredibly useful in these circumstances. Hope he can get this.

With regards to the reference, the company only offers standard references (ie X worked here from this date to that date). Can something different be agreed or does it not matter as long as it's standard with nothing bad added?

He'll be losing loads of benefits on top of his basic pay, such as preferential mortgage rates, so on top of losing a whole salary, our bills are going to go up too

I think the amount offered depends on length of service...

The amount offered is likely to be broadly based on what you might get if you took the case to an employment tribunal. It will be less than a tribunal might award but your husband won't have the stress of going through a tribunal hearing with the possibility that he might lose. How much less depends to a degree on how strong they think your husband's case would be. The benefits he is losing should form part of the calculation.

You can agree different wording for a reference but if the company only offers standard references all your husband should be after is confirmation that he will get a standard reference. If other employers know the company only gives standard references it might ring alarm bells if they get a really good reference for your husband.

Depression can be really difficult. I'm sorry his employer isn't being more sympathetic.

Just a brief update.. This is still ongoing but my DH now has some support from a solicitor and the union. He has raised a formal grievance mostly centring around the fact that his depression hasn't been taken into account; eg short timescales prohibitive when suffering from depression, suggestions on Occupational Health assessment not taken into account, extra stress from management led to him being signed off work.

The acknowledgement letter simply says his grievance regards timescales and objectives of his performance improvement plan. No mention of the word depression, almost as though they've purposely avoided it. Is this weird? Does it matter if the acknowledgement letter doesn't accurately sum up the reasons for his grievance?