Employers, redundancy and settlement agreements – how we can help

Mass redundancies have been in the news again recently, with car manufacturer Ford recently announcing 1300 job losses in the UK over the coming months, and tech giants including Amazon and Google planning job layoffs and hiring freezes.

For employers facing the current economic uncertainty, it’s never been more important to know your legal rights and responsibilities.

The prospect of managing a collective redundancy programme – when a group of employees is asked to enter into settlement agreements – can be complex, demanding and stressful for all those involved.

That’s why using a single law firm with specialist expertise to offer advice to all your employees – a legal requirement before they enter into a settlement agreement – can make the whole process more streamlined and efficient, not to mention cost-effective.

What does a settlement agreement do?

A settlement agreement, also known as a compromise agreement, is made between employer and employee and outlines the terms of an employee’s termination of employment in a written, legally binding contract which must be signed by a solicitor.

This agreement generally covers aspects including the amount and type of termination payments, confidentiality, return of company property, warranties, tax indemnities, legal costs and the exact date of termination.

They are usually entered into shortly before or after the termination of a contract to allow a clean break, whereby the employee agrees to waive their right to make a claim against the employer in return for an agreed sum of compensation.

Read our Employees Guide to Settlement Agreements.

It’s vitally important to ensure that settlement agreements comply with the relevant statutory requirements as not doing so could leave you as an employer exposed to a claim you thought had been settled.

What are the benefits of using one law firm for your settlement agreements?

If you are an employer making multiple or collective redundancies, using one law firm to provide the specialist and specific legal advice needed makes practical and commercial sense.

Wards Solicitors’ bespoke service includes:

• Sending a team of solicitors to your workplace to provide in-situ advice and multiple settlement agreement sign offs over several days or weeks;
• Offering a heavily discounted rate for representing each outgoing employee and with no charge for our travel time;
• The reassurance of using a highly recommended and experienced specialist team – Wards Solicitors is recommended by independent Legal 500 guide 2023.

Click here to read more about the specific ways Wards Solicitors can help employers who want to ensure they meet the legal requirements of a collective redundancy process in the least disruptive and most efficient way possible.

It’s also important to remember that if you do nominate one law firm to advise your employees, you must let them know of their right to instruct a different solicitor if they want to.

Get in touch

If you are an employer looking at a mass redundancy exercise and would like to talk to us about advising your employees on settlement agreements, please contact either James Murray or James Taylor, Employment Law Partners.

Email james.murray@wards.uk.com.  Telephone 01934 428800

Email james.taylor@wards.uk.com Telephone 01454 204880