Settlement Agreement Solicitors
Your employer's lawyers wrote it. Get a solicitor who is working for you.
A settlement agreement permanently waives your right to bring tribunal claims. Before you sign, a specialist employment solicitor must advise you — and in most cases your employer pays that cost. The initial offer is rarely the best one. Get advice first.
What You Need to Know
Six things every employee should understand before signing.
Settlement agreements are one of the few employment law situations where the law requires you to take legal advice. Understanding why matters before you put pen to paper.
Independent legal advice is mandatory
A settlement agreement is only legally binding if you have received advice from a qualified independent adviser — usually a solicitor — who has confirmed the terms and their effect. Without that, the agreement cannot be enforced and you retain all your employment tribunal rights.
Your employer usually pays the legal fees
It is standard practice for employers to make a contribution to your legal advice costs — typically £250 to £500 plus VAT. If your situation is straightforward, this often covers the full cost. Where there are claims to negotiate, additional advice may be needed but the solicitor will be clear about any cost before proceeding.
The first offer is rarely the final offer
Employers typically start low. A solicitor who reviews your agreement can identify the claims you are waiving — unfair dismissal, discrimination, unpaid bonuses, notice pay — and use them to negotiate a better package. Even a modest uplift often far exceeds the cost of getting proper advice.
Up to £30,000 may be tax-free
Compensation payments in settlement agreements are often partly or wholly tax-free up to £30,000, depending on what they represent. Contractual payments — notice pay, holiday pay, bonuses — are taxable in the normal way. How the agreement categorises each element affects how much you actually receive. A solicitor will review this.
Confidentiality clauses can be negotiated
Most settlement agreements include non-disclosure clauses preventing you from discussing the settlement or making disparaging comments about your employer. The scope of these clauses can be negotiated — including carve-outs for HMRC, professional regulators, or speaking to close family members.
You do not have to sign
Accepting a settlement agreement is always your choice. Refusing does not necessarily lead to dismissal, and in some cases the employer's conduct in the negotiation can itself become evidence in a tribunal claim. A solicitor will advise on whether the offer is reasonable, what you could recover at tribunal, and whether to accept, negotiate, or decline.