Going back to employer who gave me a Settlement agreement

[Anono34]

Hi all!

I’m just looking for a bit of advice really. I took a settlement agreement from my previous employer 6 months ago following a dispute over the way a grievance was handled. In retrospect I think I was too hasty agreeing to leave and although I did find another job reasonably quickly, I didn’t really enjoy it and am facing the possibility of being made redundant because of coronavirus. The manager who handled the grievance has now left the business, if I were to approach my previous employer with the view to getting a job there again, is there anything legally preventing this? I would imagine they would be reluctant to re-employ me or do you think they would understand that the fact the manager has left now makes a difference?

Help please!

I expect they would be worried you would return and then hold them over a barrel again. Once you start talking about settlement agreements the bridge is well and truly burnt. I know it’s really tough and no one could have predicted the pandemic, but I would put your efforts into seeking employment elsewhere. You said you managed to find something else quickly before so hopefully you will again. Good luck.

@BlueLadybird

I expect they would be worried you would return and then hold them over a barrel again. Once you start talking about settlement agreements the bridge is well and truly burnt. I know it’s really tough and no one could have predicted the pandemic, but I would put your efforts into seeking employment elsewhere. You said you managed to find something else quickly before so hopefully you will again. Good luck.

Thank you

They won’t take you back, any HR person would know that their job was on the line if they did.

The job market is about in implode when furlough schemes end, get cracking now with finding a new job before that happens.

They wouldn’t touch you with a barge pole

In the circumstances you’ve described, I highly doubt if you’d get reemployed.

However, I once handed in my notice in a job. I went on leave during my notice period and returned to find my immediate manager accusing me of all sorts of trumped up rubbish, after a period of him being difficult after I handed in my notice. It went through the disciplinary process and I was suspended on pay, but eventually got an employment specialist solicitor involved and they realised that not only were the accusations rubbish, but I could have sued them for numerous things. They backtracked and we agreed a settlement. I went off to my new job and not long after, my manager “left” the firm. I was immediately approached to go back. I obviously refused.

Without sounding big headed, I was amazing at my job and there was a limited pool of people in my small city that could even do my job. I took a lot of clients with me and I think they realisied their mistake. It was also about 10 years ago so the market was very different.

It is possible your old job might want you back, but in the current employment market and the fact you (not them) pushed for a settlement, I doubt it. Them realising they messed up with a process and may therefore lose in an employment tribunal weighted in favour of employees is very different to paying you because they thought your grievance was genuine.

You can ask OP. But the answer is going to be no.

What you need to ask yourself is would you be feeling this way about it if you weren't made redundant from the new job?

Even under good circumstances, I would never go back to an old role or company. There is always a reason why you left in the first place.

Thanks all. Just for context, i didn’t ever want to go to a tribunal but I really felt like I had no other choice at the time. I had an issue after coming back from maternity leave so with my line managers support, I submitted a grievance. It was assigned to a different manager to hear the grievance and she ignored the grievance for almost three months despite me chasing for a resolution every few weeks. I was aware that there was a 3 month time limit to take it to a tribunal and I believed that they were trying to go past this point so they didn’t have to do anything with it and I had no other option but to suck it up. A week before the three months, I explained that as they had ignored my grievance, I felt like I was being forced to go to tribunal. Their response was that they would come back to me in due time. At this point I was so stressed by the whole thing, I asked for the settlement to cover my wage for a few months to give me time to look for another job. The manager who was supposed to hear the grievance and ignored it has since been fired for misconduct on another matter and I thought that might make a difference but maybe not.

Possibly I’m just clutching at straws and should focus on looking elsewhere for something different.

Is the person you had the grievance with still there?

@Thisismytimetoshine

Is the person you had the grievance with still there?

The grievance was about my contracted hours and overtime rate, the HR manager who ignored it no longer works there.

I’m sorry this happened to you OP - it’s a horrific ending regardless of circumstances. The company culture advocated this happening, not just one person. Life moves on, it has to.

@TheVeryLastofUs

I’m sorry this happened to you OP - it’s a horrific ending regardless of circumstances. The company culture advocated this happening, not just one person. Life moves on, it has to.

Thank you for your kind words, I appreciate it :)

@TorysSuckRevokeArticle50

I'm going to be a bit blunt because I'm struggling to think of a sensitive way to phrase this, sorry.

You essentially blackmailed them by saying give me money to go away nicely or I'll take you to court. I wouldn't rehire you if I were making the hiring decisions.

She didn't blackmail them at all. Settlement agreements serve a purpose. ACAS actually encourage them, in order to not prolong unnecessary anxiety for employees/employers, and to prevent tribunals.

OP, generally speaking, if I were your ex-employer, I probably wouldn't re-hire you, even if your ex-manager was completely in the wrong and you were entirely innocent. Purely because of the history there and potential conflict of interest. Essentially you both signed a confidential agreement and decided to part ways. That's how it should stay.

I dont think any employer would rehire on these circumstances. I myself was discriminated against horrendously during my pregnancy and after becoming a new mom. I wont get into incidences but It was so serious the first words at the initial grievance meeting were 'im handing you over to my solicitor' and he left the premises. I was offered a settlement agreement in the initial meeting as the company couldn't defend him.

I personally wouldn't dream of going back to an employer who I've been paid off to leave. Even if the person has since left. The company has a duty to all their staff and the way they handled it overall must make you question whether they are right for you or not. You think you may of made the wrong decision but they made you feel you had no other choice but to leave because they couldn't resolve things during a process that all companies should take very seriously

Legally, they cannot base the decision not to re-employ you on the fact that you left under a settlement agreement or in unpleasant circumstances. This doesn't mean that they won't; they'll just use another reason.

I wouldn't re-employ someone into my organisation who had left in these circumstances. Fairly or not, you'll be badged as a trouble maker.