Compromise Agreement Offer - What do I ask for?

getmore4less

suej102 wrote: »

Wow - thanks for this everyone - my head is spinning now! I have been paid statutory redundancy and my outstanding holiday, plus one month's notice. I am now officially unemployed as I received this plus my p45 on 24th July.

I am unsure whether, when responding to the CA (I think I will ask them to make an offer considering several factors and list accordingly ...) to mention that I am aware that my ex boss has now been dismissed. Would this be at all useful to mention at this stage?

Woops they have jumped the gun if they have paid you redundancy allready, I am sure the CA should be instead of the normal termination.

I think you should persue the unfare/harrasment/bully claim, outlined by londondulwich, to establish the level of any further payments.

lonestar1

be sure and include a good reference as part of the CA

Emmzi

good reference

you have already had redundancy

enough pay to tide you over to next job - 6 to 9 months would be common unless you have *very* specialised skills

£300 - £500 for a solicitor

shake hands and smile nicely!

getmore4less

Emmzi wrote: »

good reference

you have already had redundancy

enough pay to tide you over to next job - 6 to 9 months would be common unless you have *very* specialised skills

£300 - £500 for a solicitor

shake hands and smile nicely!

Plus the expenses already paid

zzzLazyDaisy

Do speak to ACAS (number in the phone book) if you haven't already done so. They are skilled in mediating tribunal claims and will be able to give you a guide as to what sort of figure you might be awarded if you won a tribunal claim, taking into account all your circumstances. Their advice is free.

Also, keep an eye on the clock. It is not unusual for employers to drag out negotiations so that you miss the cut-off date for making a tribunal claim - at which point they can walk away from the table. The time limits for tribunal claims are very strict. Start with the date on your P45, go forward three calendar months and one day back. That is your last day for making a claim. But to be on the safe side, if it gets to a couple of weeks before the deadline. You can always withdraw when they pay up.

woody01

getmore4less wrote: »

Looks to me like the Boss got sacked by the board as a result of the grievence hearing.
You could consider that being reopened there maybe a case that is much easier to win now.

If you want to go, then you need to get an idea what a tribunal would award not just for the redundancy but the previous grievence as well.
An employment solicitor is needed for that or some more knowlegable person here might be able to comment

To be on the high side I think I would look for something along the lines of
12 months gross pay(consider reducing this to net pay if pushed)
Enhanced redundancy payment say 6 weeks pay(2w per year min or higher if this is still under the £350 or just go for the £350py).
PILON.(3 weeks or longer if in contract)
Outstanding holiday(due this anyway)
All costs so far(include the £1k solicitor bill)
Add some compensation factor say 50%.

I would also try to get them to open the bidding not sure how to approach that though.


If you actualy think you may like the place now and want to be sure of employment, another option may be to ask for the redundancy appeal to be considered properly since it was the old boss that wanted you out and that now he has gone you may consider staying if a job still exists with a new boss with suitably enhanced pay .

There is no way in a 10000000 years that any employer would pay those kind of figures.
A tribunal, if successful wouldnt pay anywhere near that either.

She would be laughed out of the meeting.

suej102

Thanks again all. I have responded asking them to open the bidding. A brief and polite email but asking that they respect the time pressures I am under should I take this to tribunal. I will let you know what they offer, but agree that I will get laughed out if I went in for the jugular with 12 months salary etc. I was a part time administrator earning £16,400 pa, however, I do think that because of my part-time status (and being female) this led to my ex boss thinking I was easy expendable. Little did he know he was going to be next (evil cackle!).

zzzLazyDaisy

To be on the high side I think I would look for something along the lines of
12 months gross pay(consider reducing this to net pay if pushed)
Enhanced redundancy payment say 6 weeks pay(2w per year min or higher if this is still under the £350 or just go for the £350py).
PILON.(3 weeks or longer if in contract)
Outstanding holiday(due this anyway)
All costs so far(include the £1k solicitor bill)
Add some compensation factor say 50%.

Okay, you need to be realistic - you have had your notice pay, redundancy pay, and holiday pay. Your claim will be for compensation for unfair dismissal for failing to follow a fair redundancy procedure. If the tribunal finds in your favour, any award will be calculated by reference to your actual losses - that is to say the wages you would have earned, had you not been dismissed. You are under a duty to make efforts to 'mitigate your loss' (find another job) so you should a careful record of all jobs applied for - copies of letters, responses, record of interviews etc . It also helps to keep copies of the job sections of your local paper, as if it gets that far, they will try to say you haven't been looking hard enough. In the current recession, provided you can show you have made genuine efforts to find work, the tribunal will normally allow the time from dismissal to tribunal, plus a bit. If you are VERY lucky that might be 12 months, but it might be less.

If you do get a job that pays the same or more, your losses cease at that point. If the job pays less you have on-going losses at the differential between to two salaries.

Compensation is calculated at net pay - because that is what you have lost.

The tribunal have no power to award an 'uplift' unless you succesfully argue that this was unlawful sex discrimination, in which case the tribunal can award injury to feelings, but this would be at the 'mild' end of the scale and probably in the region of £k (this isn't a scientific calculation, it depends how the tribunal feel on the day)

If you can get them to 6 months net loss, you will have done well (bearing in mind that it is a tax free lump sum, and that if you get another job the day after, that's tough, they can't claw it back). My bet is that they'll be prepared to go to 3 months salary, although if you tough it out and lodge proceedings, they may then go higher, especially considering their main witness is hardly going to go out of his way to help them.

Do keep in touch and let us know how you get on.

Good Luck!

suej102

Hi everyone - this came across by email to me today ...

??? do not believe that your dismissal on the grounds of redundancy to be unfair but as you have made your intentions to pursue matters to an employment tribunal very clear, senior management are prepared to make you a commercial offer of £2,000 in full and final settlement of claims between the parties to conclude matters swiftly.

Upon acceptance we shall then provide you with a draft compromise agreement for consideration by your solicitors.

Basically, I feel that this should be at least doubled. My legal fees are £1k already and I was taking home £1,100ish a month. Would it be reasonable to ask for £5k imagining that they will knock me down to £4? Also, at this point I have not mentioned that I am aware that the director who made me redundant has now been fired. Is this an ace up my sleeve or would it not make any difference?

Keen to hear, thanks again.

zzzLazyDaisy

If you feel that £4k is reasonable, then it is sensible to go in higher with a view to coming down. That is the essence of negotiation.

Do make sure that you get advice from your solicitor or ACAS about the sums that might be awarded if you go to tribunal. Also take into account the fact that you may not win, in which case you'd get nothing. Or you might win, but the tribunal might say that, on the evidence, even if they had gone through a fair procedure, you probably would have been made redundant anyway, in which case you get very little, maybe just a few weeks pay.

Also if you stress to ACAS that you are about to make a tribunal claim, it is within their remit to conduct the negotiations for you. There is no charge for this, and the employer will realise you are serious.

The offer of £2k is a commercial decision - what they are saying is that by the time they have paid solicitors, and had the inconvenience of having to release people to attend a tribunal, it is worth it to them to pay up and get rid of you. Whether the inconvenience is worth £5k or £4k is anyones guess. You have nothing to lose by trying.

Finally be aware that if you sign a CA it is legally binding and takes away your right to go to tribunal. You must see a solicitor, who must confirm in writing that he has advised you of your rights. The employer normally pays for this - I think the going rate is about £300 + vat, but I'm a bit out of touch with this.