How does a compromise agreement affect benefits

You may be able to negotiate a settlement agreement amount for personal injury. In employment situations, the most common types of personal injury are psychological injuries such as depression and similar. They are notoriously hard to prove. In order for a settlement agreement to be legally binding it needs to match certain legal criteria, which are quite complicated.

But the actual document itself can be like one of the examples on our website here. Then it needs to be reviewed and signed by your solicitor, who will also provide you with independent legal settlement agreement advice about whether the agreement is in your best interests.

If your employer refuses to negotiate with you, you may have no option but to take your claim to an employment tribunal. See our article on Employment tribunals: Commencing the Acas pre-claim process for more.

Both a COT3 and an ordinary settlement agreement essentially serve the same purpose. However, there are some circumstances in which Acas helps both sides reach a settlement, but you and your employer decide to use lawyers and a regular settlement agreement instead of a COT3.

If you have been badly treated at work and would like to leave, then your first goal is to negotiate a valid and reasonable settlement agreement, including fair financial compensation for your ill-treatment. Monaco Solicitors are experts at handling all aspects of settlement agreements. These range from advising you on the claims you might have, through negotiating an agreement on your behalf, to settlement agreement advice on an agreement that you may have already been offered.

All our solicitors are fully qualified employment law specialists with years of successful experience in handling settlement agreements and employment tribunal claims.

We only represent employees, so we really do understand what your concerns are when you have been badly treated at work and how to help you get fair compensation. If you would like legal help with your settlement agreement, get in touch to find out if we can help:. Settlement agreements, compromise agreements and how much should I get?

In this guide. This guide covers: What is a settlement agreement? What are the benefits of settlement agreements? What financial payments are included in settlement agreements? What non-financial terms can be included in a settlement agreement? How does a settlement payment compare with a tribunal award?

How much should you get for a redundancy settlement? What factors affect dispute settlement payouts? Can I get a settlement agreement for a personal injury claim?

How do I ensure my settlement agreement is legally binding? Acas and settlement agreements Next steps Show more Show less. Related guides. Popular pages. Need help negotiating your settlement agreement? Contact us. See if we can offer you a free consultation. Top Tips Lorna Valcin. The precise obligations to maintain confidentiality will be specified within the settlement agreement; you should discuss with your caseworker, what aspects of your case you would prefer to share or keep confidential.

Care should be taken to understand and comply with any confidentiality clause, as a breach of confidentiality might invalidate the settlement agreement and allow the employer to claw back a compensation payment. If you have agreed to leave your job, your caseworker will have negotiated a termination date which will be specified in the settlement agreement. Once the settlement agreement is signed, your employment is treated as having ended from the termination date.

Both your and your employer's obligations and entitlements under the contract of employment come to an end on this date. You will continue to be employed by your employer until your contract is terminated. Some employers insist that employees confirm that, at the time of signing the agreement, they have neither accepted new employment nor started to work for a new employer. Seek advice from your caseworker if you wish to accept a new post or start working for another employer before your settlement agreement has been signed by all parties.

You are likely to be in breach of your employment contract if you start another job before effectively bringing your current employment to an end. Agreeing to leave your job might mean that you avoid having to attend a workplace investigation, hearing or meeting.

Where there has been any other form of serious misconduct eg financial or exam dishonesty , the employer may refer the matter to the TRA or the EWC. Teachers in these circumstances might avoid a workplace investigation, hearing or meeting but might nevertheless be subject to an assessment by one of the regulatory authorities. If you have left your teaching post, you may continue to work as a teacher elsewhere unless the teaching regulators have informed you otherwise.

You should continue to submit fit notes to your employer during negotiations up until the settlement agreement has been signed by all parties even if the termination date has passed. Unless you have exhausted your sick pay entitlements; these should continue until your contract comes to an end; sick pay will not continue after the end of your employment.

An agreed reference is a form of words that the employer agrees to use in the event of a request for a professional reference from a prospective employer. Positive professional references are a valuable part of settlement agreements for teachers and educational professionals. The clauses in the settlement agreement will specify how and when the employer will use the agreed reference.

Many employers will also agree to the wording and timing of an announcement to the school community to explain your departure. The amount of compensation paid under a settlement agreement varies widely, depending on the nature and seriousness of the dispute between the parties. Your caseworker will discuss the value of your case with you before beginning to negotiate the deal with your employer.

Which elements of the compensation are taxable should be discussed by your caseworker and the employer during the negotiations. The answer will depend on the purpose, the amount and the timing of the payment. Certain payments, such as redundancy payments, should be paid to you without any deduction of tax or national insurance.

The clauses in the agreement should identify which payments are intended to be subject to tax and national insurance. Any clause in a settlement agreement which attempts to stop a worker from blowing the whistle — otherwise known as making a protected disclosure — would be void. Such a clause would not prevent a teacher or educational professional from making a protected disclosure. If you have signed a settlement agreement, you are advised to seek advice before making a protected disclosure. For further information on whistleblowing and protected disclosures, see the NEU's guidance for members.

Discuss your concerns with your workplace rep. If your colleagues have the same dispute with your employer, a settlement agreement might not be the best solution. You may be advised to tackle the issue with your colleagues collectively.

Ask your rep or school or college office for copies of relevant workplace policies, for example, pay policies, capability procedures, redundancy policies. You or your rep might decide to contact the NEU for further advice. The NEU will be able to advise what steps you should take. You may be advised to lodge a formal grievance or to lodge a collective grievance with your colleagues.

This may resolve the issue. If your employer, head or principal suggests a settlement agreement to you, seek immediate advice from the NEU. You may already be in touch with a local NEU caseworker; if so, let them know that your employer has approached you. Further information and guidance on your rights at work can be found here.

You are here Home Settlement agreements Settlement agreements. Tagged in Redundancy and restructure Rights and conditions. What settlement agreements are, when and why they are used, and the implications of signing one. Your solicitor should provide you with advice as to whether you have a strong claim were you to take your case to Tribunal or a Court and calculate what you would get if you were to pursue your claim in a Tribunal compared to what you are being offered in the Settlement Agreement.

Where the amounts offered are satisfactory, or where you instruct the solicitor to proceed despite the fact you could obtain more in a Tribunal or Court, your solicitor will sign off the Settlement Agreement to ensure a speedy settlement of the sums offered. If your solicitor advises that the money offered is insufficient and you instruct them to obtain as much money as possible, they will negotiate on your behalf to ensure a fair sum of money is paid.

This may mean the solicitor helping you to raise a grievance. It is important to lodge a formal written complaint to protect your position if there have been acts of discrimination. If a dismissal has taken place, your solicitor will assist with your appeal.

Where you have been in dispute with your employer, it is a good idea to ask that an agreed reference is attached to the Settlement Agreement with a clause that your employer cannot derogate from this agreed reference.

The Settlement Agreement may reaffirm post-termination restrictive covenants in your contract. Your solicitor should check your employer has not increased their scope. When a Settlement Agreement is offered because there has been a serious breach of contract, a solicitor should advise whether your employer can still enforce the original restrictive covenants.

The value of the restrictive covenants to your employer will also help a solicitor assess the fairness of the amounts offered in your Settlement Agreement. The confidentiality clause is an extremely important part of the Settlement Agreement for your employer. However, sometimes the scope needs to be reduced to allow you to speak to those closest to you, such as a spouse or immediate family or to be able to tell future employers about the circumstances of your departure. There may also be clauses preventing you from making derogatory comments against your employer.

These can be changed to be mutual clauses, stopping your employer from denigrating you. This is likely to cover all your legal fees in a straightforward matter. In a situation where you are being offered insufficient compensation sums, Martin Searle Solicitors offers the following funding alternatives:.

Once all parties have signed a Settlement Agreement , compensation is usually paid within days. However, certain payments will be made through the payroll on the usual payroll date such as outstanding salary and accrued holiday and bonuses or commission payments.

We are an experienced Employment Team where all solicitors are specialists in Employment Law.