Settlement agreement track record

We have advised thousands of employees on how to improve the deal offered under a settlement agreement. In many cases the settlement agreement is fair and reasonable and we advise you to sign without negotiation. In other cases, working with us you may decide to challenge the first offer.

We provide choices.  We have selected some of our recent cases to illustrate the range of sectors and circumstances we have successfully guided our clients through.  We always preserve confidentiality and will never name names.

Typical settlement agreement cases

• Robustly responded to the financial sums offered within a settlement agreement for an employee with over fifteen years’ service based in Mayfair. We increased the compensation offered, by “considering” a claim for unfair dismissal.
• Advised a group of employees in receipt of settlement agreements from a trading business based in Moorgate following a redundancy and re-structuring exercise.
• Considered the enforceability of restrictive covenants under a settlement agreement for a director of a top four accountancy firm based at Bank. He was seeking to work for a competitor after termination. We advised that our client’s career intentions were not restricted as the covenants were too wide to ever be enforceable. Our client happily signed the settlement agreement.

Settlement agreements and shares held by the employees

• Employment and company law advice about share sale and unfair dismissal, for an associate of a professional services company based in Farringdon. The departing associate held shares in the company which we handled. There was debate around the interpretation of the leaver clauses set out in the employer’s articles of association which the employer would rather liked to have relied upon to establish transfer by the employee at no profit. We demolished that argument and the result was our client received a decent value for the transfer of his shares.
• Negotiated for a line manager at a telecommunications company on the terms of a settlement agreement. The company sought to withhold his bonus which was payable by shares but failed following our intervention.  We analysed the rules of the share incentive plan and challenged the employer on its use of discretion.

Settlement agreements including bonus payments

• Challenged a hedge fund’s amended employment contract for an employee. We removed a clause reserving bonus payments for the fund managers’ absolute discretion.
• Enforced, in the High Court, a derivative trader’s bonus entitlement following a dispute with an international investment bank.
• Settlement agreement for a director in an international natural resources recruitment company. The director left as a good leaver and remained entitled to an annual bonus on termination of her employment.
• Resolved a bonus dispute between an employee of a publishing company and the company itself. The company sought to withdraw the employee’s entitlement by varying the employee’s employment contract.

Settlement agreement achieved following allegations of sex discrimination

We acted for a senior employee who had been subjected to a disciplinary procedure, ostensibly connected with some social messages media. The real reason was a personal issue with a senior manager following the end of an affair.

We fought the disciplinary case and also raised the personal issue and the senior manager’s motive with the Board. The result was a very substantial settlement for the employee of over £500,000, who was pleased to accept it and move on.

The payment was substantial because we were able to link the end of an affair with the dismissal and establish the potential for a sex discrimination claim.  The collation of evidence for the employee played a pivotal part.  We guided our client on gathering witness statements from colleagues to support her case and the key evidence needed.

Settlement agreements where employees are made “redundant” during or shortly after maternity leave

We have dealt with many cases were dismissal is linked to maternity.  It usually takes some robust argument but in all of our cases we have secured a sensible termination payment for our clients.