Only one offered a settlement instead of redundancy - legal?

[Chillymoanday]

I've been approached with a settlement during the start of consultation but I am the only one who has been approached.

Its a decent figure, but for a few reasons, I'm not inclined to make this easy for them despite the settlement making it fairly clear to me that I'm the employee they want gone.

Can I use this later as proof the decision to make me redundant was already decided?

The offer is only slightly more than redundancy and tbh it's not really about the money for me. For many reasons, I honestly don't want to help them here.

Your decision shouldn’t be based on what’s easier or harder for them, but on what’s best for you
Youll loose your job anyway.
Is getting a revenge/making a point worth the stress and anger you’ll get from going through redundancy etc… instead?

If they've offered you a settlement which is in excess of redundancy I'd really recommend taking it.
Tempting as it is to argue and fight it will not get you a better outcome, will cost money and will take a lot of emotional strength to go the distance.

No I don't think the offer of a sweets is enough by itself to determine unfair dismissal or a pre-judged outcome of redundancy.

Ultimately a redundancy pool and the selection criteria can be determined in a way to be biased/ achieve a particular outcome if they want it to anyway when it's only a small number of people like yours.

Sorry you are in a difficult position. I would probably try and negotiate a little more settlement and go from there.

Have they included any holiday days you are owed, known commission or overtime that is about to happen etc to be able to argue the settlement could be higher? Keep it factual where possible rather than based on feeling aggrieved with them.

Because I'm the only one out of 5 all in the exact same role in the pool that has been offered a settlement to "bring the process to a close thats less stressful for everyone"

I know I'm the only one offered a settlement. I really genuinely know this for a fact.

I'm not a nightmare, or i wasnt. I don't want to go into the reasons why I want to take it further if I can, but honestly, please believe me when I say if I said why i dont want to make it easy on them Id likely get very different replies, and told to go to the police tbh (really dont want to). I want to make a stand tbh, if I can, for me and so I can move on mentally.

So basically a protected conversation really is that in all circumstances? Even if it's more likely than not proof of a sham redundancy?? 😔

Honestly redundancy is very stressful. It sound last like they don’t want you to stay for whatever reason. It has happened to a lot of us and most of the time it feels immensely unfair, particularly if you are a working mum.

so if I were you I’d take it but just give your own terms. It is a negotiation so if they offer you X you ask for 2 times X etc and get to a figure you are happy with. Ultimately it is the best solution.

Listen to this.
It will most likely be you that doesn't get an easy ride.
I get that you want to punish your employer and make things difficult and your reasons for that are your own BUT unless they are acting illegally (get properly qualified advice) you would be better taking some emotion out of this and getting the best result for yourself, which may not involve any revenge

Take the money - maximised via legal support, then go to the police. I’m fairly certain whistleblowing sits outside NDAs ?

Correct whilst blowing does.

You can’t use a settlement agreement as proof of anything.

"Is getting a revenge/making a point worth the stress and anger you’ll get from going through redundancy etc… instead?"

Absolutely 100% it would be worth it. For one, i can imagine making them do proper scoring etc. for 5 would be well worth it because i know they want to hurry this up. But also if I can take it further then I'd quite enjoy causing a headache there too tbh.

I really, really do not want to go to the police. I won't be going to the police.

Few posts saying get legal advice - does anyone here who is quallfied know the legal position on this?

Appreciate people have said I have no comeback, but id really like to know from someone qualified, although I am very grateful for all the replies.

You have no idea who is or isn't legally qualified on here and it would be very risky to act on any advice given without checking in real life as well.
Does your Home Insurance have a legal helpline? Are you in a union?

Once you get to this stage in a job you need to leave for your own wellbeing. If they are acting illegally then they are hardly likely to go through a fair process of planning redundancy. I would focus on what amount of money would make it easier to leave and then pop a bit on top so you can appear to negotiate downwards. Also ensuring that you negotiate an agreed reference. Plus gardening leave until the end of the contract so you can look for jobs right away. You will be better once out of there and either recovering or in a different job.

How do you know they’ve not already completed a desktop selection process and you came out bottom?

Check if you pay tax on settlement figure - you won’t pay tax on first £30,000 of redundancy. If it’s only slightly more you could be worse off

A settlement offer is on a without prejudice basis meaning you can't use it against your employer in legal proceedings. It can be commonly offered to avoid going through a formal process.

All My settlement agreements have included an allowance to seek legal advice, usually £2 - £3k. Any employment specialist solicitor will be able to help.

It's not uncommon to do this. If you have employees who may be unhappy or you suspect may be looking for an exit it is one way of circumventing the redundancy process and bringing things to a close without so much time and resource.

You can't use this as evidence that the process is a sham, for the reasons others have explained.

You sound very unhappy with them. I'd look at the settlement as an opening gambit and try to negotiate upwards. You may also be able to win some other concessions- eg if you have a live grievance (or a potential grievance) then you could ask for more to settle that, or you could ask for a longer notice period, to be retained but on garden leave for your notice (which may make it easier to find a new role).

I wouldn't act on any advice from here, but it would give me a starting point, especially if someone could say "one person offered a settlement out of a pool could point to a sham redundancy because of XYZ" type thing. Then I can do some research myself (feeling empowered etc)

Tbh I'm a bit reluctant to speak to a solicitor yet because I don't want to risk getting drawn into talking about the reasons why I don't want to take the offer. They'd see £ signs tbh and I'm not interested in that. But if I could say to a solicitor "I've been advised it points to a sham because of XYZ" it helps keep the conversation on track and will help me focus on just that.

No as someone above as mentioned. Settlements are without prejudice . This means generally it can't be used in legal proceedings and It in now way indicates liability or admission of guilt. Often used to speed up redundancy process so not unusual. It does sound like you have redundancy outcome maybe predetermined but that's often the case before a process begins where it's agreed the higher pe formers will be kept and the weaker staff will be selected. They may go through the motions of interviewing everyone but given they are all internal candidates, a good interview means absolutely nothing if performance is generally poor.

In a nutshell it doesn't strengthen your negotiating position for redundancy settlement or give you an avenue for unfair dismal.

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A settlement agreement is not evidence of anything, that’s the start and end, they also are usually specifically written so that they cannot be used in any legal proceedings “without prejudice”, they fall outside of the parameters. They are very common and not proof of anything.

Pay a solicitor, you can then hear this from them and discuss.

So, can I use the settlement offer as evidence the redundancy was unfair as the decision was predetermined?

Settlement offers are not an unusual preferred option ahead of redundancy. As long as they can demonstrate you have been fairly ranked against other colleagues using the same criteria if you are selected for redundancy, I wouldn't have thought you'd have a case at all.
Do have a long hard think about the financials. I know someone who turned down a fairly decent settlement offer, only to be made redundant on statutory terms a little while later.

If you think this is not a genuine redundancy situation or if you think it is genuine but not being conducted using a fair process, you can ask questions during the consultation process. There is a requirement for the company to use a fair selection process. It is difficult to prove that you have been unfairly selected, however normally an organisation will tend to enhance the offer to mitigate any risk. Legal advice is expensive and unfair dismissal without any protected characteristics is based on a statutory calculation as is redundancy, so there is a significant risk of spending a chunk of money for very little reward. And it takes time, whereas the settlement would be paid on signing. The pragmatic course of action would be to push them a bit on the process with the expectation they’ll up the offer a bit. You’ll also get some free legal advice before you sign an agreement but this is really to check the agreement itself is sound,

"As long as they can demonstrate you have been fairly ranked against other colleagues using the same criteria if you are selected for redundancy, I wouldn't have thought you'd have a case at all."

That's interesting because looking at the scoring matrix proposed, I absolutely would not be the lowest scorer, I'd probably be the highest tbh. Which is why I believe they have offered just me the settlement. So I don't think they could demonstrate it was fair - they are using stats etc that we can all access.

So I think they have approached me because they want me out anyway, but they know the scoring/selection would be dodgy if I was the one selected.

Good luck, let us know how you go.