What is Section 111A ERA? This guide has been written by a specialist employment solicitor In November 2013 the then coalition government introduced a change in the law to allow employers or employee to offer a settlement agreement witout it being admissible in an employment tribunal claims for ordinary unfair dismissal claim. This promoted at … Read more
If your employer has asked to speak with you ‘off the record’ about the possibility of leaving your job on agreed terms, they may be initiating what is legally known as a protected conversation. Understanding what this means — and what protections it gives your employer, and what it does not — is helpful before … Read more
The short answer is yes — and this is not simply good advice. It is a legal requirement. A settlement agreement is only valid and enforceable under UK legislation if you have received independent legal advice from a qualified adviser before signing it. Without that advice, the agreement cannot be used to waive your statutory … Read more
If your employer has told you that you will be placed on garden leave, or you are negotiating a settlement agreement that includes a garden leave period, it is important to understand what this means for you: what you are entitled to, what you are and are not allowed to do, and how it affects … Read more
If your employer has approached you about a settlement agreement — or you’ve heard the term mentioned at work — it can feel unsettling, especially if you’re not sure what it means or what happens next. This guide explains everything you need to know, in plain English. What Is a Settlement Agreement? A settlement agreement … Read more
If your employer has sent you a letter or email marked ‘without prejudice’, or used those words in a conversation about leaving your job, you may be wondering what it actually means and whether it matters. This guide explains the without prejudice rule in plain English — what it does, when it applies, and when … Read more
What is a ‘Mutually Agreed Resignation Scheme’? A ‘Mutually Agreed Resignation Scheme’, or ‘MARS’ for short, is a recognised scheme typically used by the NHS and other public sector employers to give employee’s the opportunity to resign and receive a severance package, usually under a settlement agreement. An employee is free to choose whether to … Read more
Why are we talking about this? Because we are solicitors focused on advising employees and employers on settlement agreements, we see the real-life impact of economic cycles coming through the system as redundancies and settlement agreements. In our professional legal career we’ve assisted clients through the credit crunch and recession it caused, Covid-19 and now … Read more
This guide (and the Table below) will you help to quickly identify the tax implications for each type of payments commonly made under a settlement agreement. Who pays the tax? Where a payment isn’t exempt from tax the employer is required to make the appropriate deductions for income tax and national insurance contributions (‘PAYE Deductions’). … Read more
The role of the solicitor advising on the inclusion of an NDA Solicitors, as legal professionals, have a crucial role to play in drafting, enforcing, and/or advising on a settlement agreement, including non-disclosure agreements (‘NDAs’) or confidentiality clauses, as they are sometimes called. The regulator of solicitors in England and Wales (the ‘SRA’) has provided … Read more
