Summary

How Marsha Thompson secured a Compromise Agreement containing a sum of £15,000 and a favourable reference for her client.

The Situation

Shirley had worked as a director for a large company for more than 10 years where she was subject to a campaign of bullying and intimidation by her manager. She had raised these issues with her employer on several occasions. She even went as far as lodging a formal grievance – which her employer ignored.

Shirley raised another formal grievance to try and ensure the company dealt with her complaints. However, in the middle of investigating her grievances, the company instigated disciplinary action against her on a spurious allegation of misconduct. At this point Shirley had already resigned and was working her three months’ notice.

What We Did

Shirley came to see Marsha Thompson for advice about her grievance and impending disciplinary hearing.

She was advised that she had a strong claim for constructive unfair dismissal as the company’s serious repudiatory breaches entitled her to resign and claim constructive dismissal. A repudiatory breach is a breach so serious as to damage the relationship of trust and confidence.

Marsha wrote to the company advising that Shirley would be bringing a constructive dismissal claim. She also put forward a “without prejudice” (off the record) offer to settle her claim as Shirley did not relish the idea of having to go to an employment tribunal.

The Result

Following Marsha’s letters to the company, it offered a Compromise Agreement. Marsha was able to negotiate an ex-gratia payment of £15,000 which equated to 9.5 months’ net pay together with a favourable reference to enable Shirley to get another job at the same level. The company agreed that Shirley could draft her own reference which Marsha helped her do.

Multiple Compromise Agreement Case Study: Trade Union

Summary

How martin searle solicitors’ employment team assisted a trade union where its members’ terms and conditions were varied and the Compromise Agreements compensated for this. This was to ensure that employees did not resign and claim constructive dismissal. By signing the Compromise Agreement they waived their right to bring a claim.

Situation

A large number of employees in a local authority were affected adversely by the Single Equality Bill which required job evaluations to take place to regrade positions so that there was equality for men and women. This meant that some men and women were to receive a reduced salary. There was a tight timescale for the sign-offs to be completed. The union contacted our team to arrange an efficient sign-off for its members and also for individuals who were not in the union.

What We Did

We attended the workplace over two dates so that we could meet the deadline and avoid the compensatory offers being withdrawn. This would have meant the employee being issued with a new contract without being compensated. We liaised with both the human resources team and the unions to check that the agreements between the unions and the employers were reflected in the Compromise Agreements. This ensured that despite the tight deadlines the employees were fully informed of the consequences of signing the Compromise Agreement and their options if they did not sign.

The Result

All employees signed their Compromise Agreements once they received our legal advice. We also saw some employees at our office to ensure we kept to the timescale. In this case, the consequences of not accepting the offer could have resulted in new contracts being issued without any compensation for the employees having their terms and conditions downgraded. The employees who refused to sign and to accept the new contract were likely to be dismissed for “some other substantial reasons” which is potentially a fair reason for dismissal.

Multiple Compromise Agreement Case Study: Local Employer

Summary

How martin searle solicitors’ bulk sign-off service for Compromise Agreements helped a local employer which was restructuring and reducing its workforce by nearly 20 people.

The Situation

The managing director contacted us after the company had been through the redundancy process and had reached agreements with the trade unions on agreed selection criteria. The company had offered Compromise Agreements with enhanced terms so that the employees did not have to work their notice and they would receive their notice pay as a tax-free payment.

What We Did

Our team attended the employer’s office over two days to sign off the agreements at a reduced rate per Compromise Agreement. It transpired one employee should not have been selected as he was disabled within the meaning of the Disability Discrimination Act and reasonable adjustments should have been applied to the scoring process. This should have been factored in when deciding who was to be made redundant.

The Results

All Compromise Agreements were signed off except in the case of the disabled employee who was reinstated by his employer.

Find out more about Compromise Agreements advice from martin searle solicitors’.

Author Bio: Martin Searle Solicitors were founded back in 2004 and have offices in Brighton and Croydon. They pride themselves on being a new kind of Community Care Solicitors; providing niche, comprehensive legal services in Employment Law, Housign Law and Community Care Law. The adept team of solicitors have a wide range of experience advising, acting and training for employers, employees, local authorities and landlords, to name but a few. For more information visit www.ms-solicitors.co.uk

Category: Legal
Keywords: compromise agreements, compromise agreement, legal advice, legal case studies