Negotiating an exit package
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Negotiating an exit package
Negotiating an exit package is one of the ways our employment lawyers can help you when you are considering your options in terms of your employment.
Employment Law Advice Meeting – Negotiating an exit package
We offer new clients an initial fixed fee meeting to discuss their situation. It would be at this meeting that we would discuss negotiating an exit package with you if that was appropriate. In some circumstances, you may ultimately decide that you do not wish to continue working for your employer. This could be due to many different reasons – for example, perhaps there has been a break-down of trust and confidence or discriminatory behaviour against you. Alternatively, your employer may be in the process of dismissing you and you want to challenge this and negotiate an exit.
We would use the meeting to gain an understanding of the background facts and circumstances in the event that you would like us to attempt to negotiate the terms on which you will be leaving your employment.
If you are dissatisfied with the treatment shown to you by your employer, we will always highlight the potential legal claims that you could look to pursue as an option, and the positives and negatives of doing so. However, some employees decide that, instead of pursuing a formal claim against their employer, they would like to reach a settlement.
Next steps in negotiating an exit package
Using the information we have obtained during the meeting, we could then write a detailed letter to your employer setting out the key concerns and legal implications, to propose an offer on which the terms of your employment would be settled. We would always provide advice to you on the factual circumstances to give you an understanding of what you could potentially receive were you to bring a claim, so that we can then put forward a realistic and sensible offer on your behalf.
The terms on which your employment would end are then often contained in the form of a settlement agreement.
What is a Settlement Agreement?
A settlement agreement is a contractually binding, confidential document between the employer and employee in which you would essentially agree to waive your legal claims (as identified by us in the meeting) in return for a compensation payment from the employer. This can represent a clean-break for an employee and allow them to move forward, without the need to pursue a formal claim against the employer.
This is often a lengthy legal document and therefore we can assist in advising you on the terms and effect of the various clauses, in order to clarify any legal jargon and queries you may have.
It is a legal requirement for you to obtain advice on the terms and effect of the document and as such we can have this meeting with you. This can provide continuity for you as we would already have a detailed understanding of your situation from the original advice meeting. If you then wanted to negotiate on the terms of the settlement agreement, we would be able to discuss this with you and would be happy to negotiate on your behalf.
If you would like to discuss the possibility of negotiating an exit package or other options, please contact a member of the Employment team.