Compromise Agreement and New Employer

Lord_Lardington

Hi,

I've recently been made redundant and the whole package is neatly tied up in a Compromise Agreement.

This is all fine apart from the confidentiality part. I'm interviewing for a new job on Friday and technically I'm not allowed to say I've been made redundant BUT I don't really want to hide the fact from my new employer in case it ever comes back to bite me.

I would keep totally quiet about having left but the standard reference my old company gives includes my employment dates which would show me leaving last week.

What would you do/say?

dmg24

I left with a compromise agreement and I just stated that I resigned, and made up various reasons as to why, depending on the job that I was going for. I ended up returning to fulltime study, so that became my reason for future roles.

cazziebo

Are you sure the compromise agreement expressly forbids saying redundancy? Usually it's more about what leads up to the "parting company". I would be tempted just to say "Strictly between ourselves, the reason for leaving is I was made redundant but I have signed a compromise agreement to say I wouldn't publicise that."

Your ex employer can't expect you to lie about such a material fact, and your right to be wary of lying to a new employer. If it was to come out it's a bit of a black mark on your integrity right at the beginning.

Congrats on securing a new role so quickly.

floss2

A compromise agreement is nothing to be ashamed of, in fact although I wouldn't brag about it, it can mean that the company had to buy you out of your contract for whatever reason because they could not sack you without there being some comeback.

I would say that "my previous role terminated by mutual agreement". Then if they really want to know, you can say "I'm sorry, the terms of the agreement mean that I cannot be any more specific".

I would be very surprised if they had never come across this situation before.

Lord_Lardington

Thanks all. The agreement does specifically excludde me talking about hte redundancy or even the existance of the CA.

That said, I'm guessing the intent there is to stop me blabbing to remianing emplyees. I doubt they'd be bothered if I told someone totally unconnected to either the old company OR the media.

bodlondon

A friend is in a similar situation, however they clarified with the (now former) employer over disclosure of reason for leaving, the response from them, and the lawyer they provided, was that they couldn't stop them from saying reason for leaving was redundancy, and in fact was the reason stated on the agreed reference which formed part of the CA.
Discussing the CA is a v different matter tho, and is subject to all the secrecy inclusions and warranties you agreed to.
HTH

lexa34

I am pretty sure you can say you were made redundant as this was the true reason. The CA cannot be worded so it puts you in a position where you have to lie about it. If worried lots of solicisters do an half hour free initial consulation and you could get it clarified. Did the company not pay for you to have it checked by a legal person? If so, you could clarify with them. Or a quick free call to CLS ( community legal service-very good and free as you aren't working) or with house/ car insruane packages you get legal helpline which covers all legal stuff not just driving related stuff.

I had one, ex-employer broke it by not providing sometime to me in time but I still had the fruits of it!!

Cheeky_Wee_Lassie

Hi, I think I'm in this exact situation. I was offered a 'compromise agreement' last Thursday and finished work on Friday. It was an offer too good to refuse, and so I'll be paid for not working for the next two months, which is perfect to recover from an illness that I haven't really recuperated from.
However, I already have a job interview booked for next week, which is for a job that I would want to start in October (when my current contract would have expired anyway).
I'm naturally an honest person, and feel uncomfortable about lying or being sneaky about what happened with my now-ex-employer. I think part of the problem is that I can't really get my head around it myself, whether I was sacked, whether I resigned. I also feel disappointed and a bit ashamed.
I don't want to tell the people at the new job that I am now available for work immediately, as I want to use the gift of time to rest up and get my strength back after my operation. However, my contract now officially ends on July 31st instead of end of September. My bosses told me I could say that the original post-holder came back to work early which is why the terms of contract were changed. I'm just worried I'll make a mess of the interview, say something dodgy, or something that could backfire later.

londondulwich

Could you type up the compromise agreement, excluding names, dates and amounts?

jobbingmusician

How about 'I am bound by a confidentiality clause not to say anything about reasons for leaving, but can confirm that my leaving had nothing whatsoever to do with performance, competence or disciplinary issues and was by mutual agreement'?

londondulwich

Sorry to digress,

'Cheeky wee Lassey', I'm assuming you have signed the compromise agreement. Did you recieve legal advice from either a Union representative or an independant lawyer before accepting the agreement?

(A compromise agreement is void unless the assignee has complied with this requirement).

Were you pushed or did you jump?

Did you have a choice?