Redmans Helps Client Increase Their Settlement Agreement Offer by Over £3,000
Chris Hadrill, a specialist employment solicitor and partner at Redmans, represented a client in settlement agreement negotiations and secured the client an increase of £3,000 to their redundancy package, as well as other amendments to the settlement agreement.
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Situation
Alex (not her real name) worked for an IT solutions company for a number of years in a mid-level role. One day she was approached by her employer and told that they didn’t think things were “working out” at the business for her. She was then offered a settlement agreement by her employer and told to get legal advice.
Alex wasn’t particularly happy with the amount that her employer was offering to enter into the settlement agreement, as it appeared to her that she was only being offered a ‘de minimis’ amount to enter into the settlement agreement.
Alex also wanted to see whether it would be possible to release her from a ‘non-compete’ clause that she was bound by under her contract of employment and, also, to see whether it would be possible to extend her garden leave period for as long as possible so that she had the longest possible period of time to find a new job.
What We Did
Alex got in touch with Redmans and Chris Hadrill, employment law specialist and Partner at Redmans. Chris took on board Alex’s concerns and represented her in her settlement agreement negotiations. He went through Alex’s settlement agreement in depth with her, discussed what amendments should be made to the agreement, and negotiated the matter directly with her employer.
Chris made the point to Alex’s employer that no fair procedure (no procedure at all) had been followed before the employer decided that Alex wasn’t capable of doing the job any more, and negotiated a higher-value settlement agreement for Alex. He also managed to get Alex’s employer to release her from the non-compete covenant and, further increase the period of garden leave that her employer was willing to offer. Finally, it was agreed that Alex’s employer would cover the entirety of Alex’s legal costs for the advice.
The Result
After a lengthy period of negotiation, as detailed above, Alex’s employer agreed to settle her potential unfair dismissal claim in return for:
- An extra sum of money as compensation (over £3,000), to pay Alex in respect of her notice period,
- An extended period of garden leave,
- Her release from her non-compete covenant, and
- Covering Alex’s legal costs.
It was also negotiated that the terms of the agreement – and the reason for Alex leaving her employer – would be covered by a mutual confidentiality clause and that Alex would receive an agreed reference from the business in the future.
Chris Hadrill, the specialist employment solicitor who dealt with Alex’s case, commented:
“I was delighted to represent the client in this matter and to achieve what the client was looking for – the solicitors at Redmans always try to go above and beyond to achieve client expectations.”