Settlement Agreements At Tinsdills

In short, yes. It is a requirement of any employment settlement agreement that the employee obtains legal advice independent of the employer to ensure that they have fully understood the effects of signing the agreement and to prevent the employee from being coerced into signing it by the employer.

Usually, the employer agrees (as a term of the settlement agreement) to pay the employee’s legal costs for obtaining legal advice before signing the same. The contribution towards the employee’s legal fees is usually capped and will be conditional on the employee proceeding with the agreement. If the employee decides not to proceed with the settlement agreement, the employer may refuse to pay their legal costs as their obligation to do so will be contained in the agreement, which has not been entered into. In that case, the employee would be responsible for their own legal costs unless the employer (at its discretion) agrees to pay the employee’s legal fees notwithstanding that they have not proceeded with the settlement agreement.

Generally, once you have entered into a settlement agreement, you will have waived your rights to bring a claim against the employer in the employment tribunal. However, there are certain limited types of claims which you may still be able to bring. These will be set out in the agreement but may include latent personal injuries that you were not aware of at the time as well as claims relating to work pension schemes. Speak to one of our dedicated employment law solicitors for more information.