Compromise Agreement

lfm001

I am in the process of being made redundant. I have been asked to sign a compromise agreement. My employers are offering me £120. My salary is around £70K per annum. This seems very low to me? What should I be asking for?

tasha-debt

To confirm is that £120.00 or £120,000?

Thanks

P.S Make sure you take the comp agreement to a lawyer to read over, actually is the £120 to pay for the lawyer?

SarEl

lfm001 wrote: »

I am in the process of being made redundant. I have been asked to sign a compromise agreement. My employers are offering me £120. My salary is around £70K per annum. This seems very low to me? What should I be asking for?

Let me get this clear - you earn £70k a year in a job we know nothing about and on terms we know nothing about, expect to receive an offer of £120k (I assume you really didn't mean £120) - and you want us to give you free advice based on no details or knowledge at all? And you don't think this is important enough to get (paid for) legal advice? Your employer should be picking up the cost of the independant legal advice you need for the actual agreement, but it would seem sensible to be talking to a lawyer sooner rather than later, because later is too late.

And no - it doesn't seem low.

lfm001

hi....the amount is £120 not £120,000

they have offered to pay for the legal costs associated with drawing it up.

£120 diestn seem like a lot to me. I would be thinking of a few thousand

lfm001

its £120 not £120,000.....

SarEl

Hang on - for someone earning £70k a year you lack some clarity! If they are offering you £120 for your legal fees for the compromise agreement then yes it is low - but (a) the costs are approx. £250 - £450, and not thousands and (b) the whole "should" thing in my senetence is that they should pay for the cost because it is common practice to, but legally they do not have to pay at all. Of course, you don't have to sign one either.

If they are offering £120 as your resundancy payment then yes it seems low!

Googlewhacker

how much are they paying you redundancy wise?

hcb42

are they in financial difficulties? Why would they not pay the statutory minimum redundancy, (which would not normally be associated with a compromise agreement)?

lfm001

thanks...

I feel that my employers have realised that they have said some things they shouldnt have done...ie "dont bother applying for other jobs within the company" they are now saying that they will pay 8 weeks of my 12 weeks notice as garden leave and I work for 4 weeks. they have offered to pay the legal costs of the compromise + a £120 gesture. £120 seems low to me.

SarEl

I think I made it clear - they do not have to pay anything at all. It is simply common practice. Ask for more - if they refuse then you can't do anything unless you refuse to sign the compromise agreement.

caseydog_2

I wouldn't have thought that a solicitor could do the job for £120. You'd need to be very clear about what rights you're compromising. If it's a genuine redundancy - sometimes called a "no-fault dismissal" - then why have they said don't bother to apply for any other posts? Is this a capability or conduct dismissal dressed up as redundancy? You really do need to be properly advised of all your options before you sign away your rights.

Bear in mind also that Acas can draw up COT 3 agreements even before you put in an Employment Tribunal claim, and thats free for both you and the employer.