Settlement Agreement Lawyers

Settlement agreements allow you to settle a dispute out of court. The deal can be confidential and there will be no judgement published on a public register.

Other benefits are:

• Agreements can avoid the lengthy process, stress, and cost involved with a protracted formal grievance, complaint, or tribunal claim
• If the agreement includes a compensation payment, the full amount can be yours as long as the terms put in place determine this
• You and your employer can agree to other terms that a judge has no power to award, such as a positive reference, a payment of your costs, confidentiality and provisions to protect your reputation.

No. Generally speaking you can’t back out of a legally binding settlement agreement. But you can decide not to make the agreement at any point before the document is signed. This shouldn’t affect any future claim you make against your employer.

You may be able to back out of a signed agreement if your employer behaved improperly (putting pressure on or rushing you – but this can be hard to prove).

If you think your settlement agreement may be invalid, speak to us as soon as possible for specialist advice.

Using a settlement agreement can allow your employer to avoid formal disciplinary or redundancy procedures (performance reviews, warnings, etc). It helps them work around ‘exceptional’ cases, save time and money, and also remove the risk of claims for unfair dismissal.

Employers might also use a settlement agreement when an employee is staying with the company but wants written confirmation the dispute has been fully resolved.