Anyone know about Compromise Agreement

tippytop

Hi
I have a question about compromise agreements and hope someone can help?

On the 8th June my OH was asked to attend a meeting with his MD just to discuss where the business was going. He has never met the MD before and was pleased thinking his MD was taking an interest.

Well at the meeting he was told that the work had been slowing down (he works in construction so no surprise) and that he had been selected to be made redundant there and then. They said his redundancy would take effect on the 15th June but he was no longer required to work and could go home.

As you can image it was a shock but he said they were very nice to him and they were only doing this because there was no work available.
OH has worked for the company for just over 10 years and they have offered him 10wk x £350 = £3500 statutory pay plus his contract states he is entitled to 10wks notice period pay and any outstanding holiday pay.

He then received and email/letter a week later asking him to sign a Compromise Agreement which he needs to take an independent solicitor and his company would pay £250 towards this. They also advised that even though his notice period will commence 15th June they will pay him weekly until 30th June giving him 2 weeks to see the solicitor. This means 2 week of the 10 week notice period is subject to tax.

Now my questions are regarding the and the way he was made redundant (there and then).

1.Can you just be made redundant or should there be a period on consultation? OH knows of a few others who have also been made redundant.

2.I have been looking online to try and understand why they want him to sign it. It means he can’t take them to ET but I have seen that some people offered payment for signing CA. should he be offered a cash incentive for signing this?

Horace

If he signs a compromise agreement, he cannot decide at a later date to take his employer to an employment tribunal. It is up to the employer whether or not they pay him anything over and above the redundancy payment to accommodate the compromise agreement.

Personally, if he thinks that the redundancy is unfair and procedures havent been followed then he should take the to an employment tribunal - it is then likely that the employer will settle out of court because they don't want the bad publicity.

My advice for what its worth is that he doesnt sign the agreement - is he in a union? if so what does the union say about it? if not then see a solicitor (the first half hour is usually free) - you can find a specialist employment lawyer by contacting the law society and they will give you the names of 3 in your area.

HTH

tippytop

Thanks for the reply Horace.

Yes he is in a trade union and he will be seeking their advice tomorrow. I will also ask OH to contact his employer to see if they will be willing to pay him to sign the CA.