Compromise Agreement - is this a breach?

randombloke_2

I recently signed a compromise agreement with my previous company due to a situation in work that was handled very poorly by them and ultimately forced me off work with depression.

I was offered a compromise agreement after two weeks being off sick. This appealed to me because i really couldnt face going back, and the lump sum on offer was £7500 tax free which is a usable amount.

One of the benefits they promoted of this was that it was effectively a redundancy, meaning i could claim Job seekers, etc, whilst i looked for another job. The compromise agreement didnt specifically say this, but i was assured it was a standard matter of course both by the company and by the Labour Relations Agency representative who was there.

That was two months ago, and immediately i went to sign on. However, 2 weeks later i got a letter from the DHSS saying that they had contacted my previous employers and the reason for leaving was 'resignation'. I replied on the form provided saying this was wrong and there must have been an admin error by my previous employer. I contacted the HR Director of my previous company (who had set all this up) and he assured he would get it sorted.

Now a month later i've had another form out from the DHSS saying they have checked again and my status is 'Resigned'.

Therefore i'm now in the very dodgy position of appearing to have lied on paper to the DHSS. I phoned the HR Director again who said he would look into it, but has subsequently not replied AND wont answer my calls. That was a week ago. I also tried to contact the company's HR manager and she hasnt replied either.

So, the question is, are the company in breach of contract for the compromise agreement AND / OR what can i do about it?

I have to contact the DHSS tomorrow and i suspect they wont be very sympathetic.

On top of this, i now cant claim on my income insurance as it appears i 'resigned'

Anyone offer any help???

BoGoF

Did you get legal advice before signing the agreement.....what exactly does the agreement state?

randombloke_2

BoGoF wrote: »

Did you get legal advice before signing the agreement.....what exactly does the agreement state?

Yes, though it just seems to be a 'standard' agreement. Basically saying i wont take them to court, and that they are paying me a lump sum of £7500. The Labour Relations Agency people read over it and its fine. However, it didnt specifically mention the reason for leaving status.

Jarndyce

A Compromise Agreement is not 'effectively a redundancy', it is a mutual agreement to terminate a contract of employment. Whether the DWP class that in the same way as a resignation for benefit assessment purposes I don't know, but I'm sure they will see it differently than a compulsory redundancy or a dismissal, say.

You need to explain this to the DWP. Show them a copy of the agreement if necessary. I can't say what their rules are in such circumstances, but whatever happens as long as you keep telling them the truth you shouldn't be criticised for it.

LittleVoice

randombloke wrote: »

Yes, though it just seems to be a 'standard' agreement. Basically saying i wont take them to court, and that they are paying me a lump sum of £7500. The Labour Relations Agency people read over it and its fine. However, it didnt specifically mention the reason for leaving status.

Where do you live? In the UK?
Who are these "Labour Relations Agency" people?
Did they explain to you what it meant and all the consequences to you of signing?
Was there anything about providing a reference and what it could say? Did the people advising you point out that this was not included?
Who paid them?

Sambucus_Nigra

Was it written into your compromise agreement that you would be classed as having been made redundant?

Did you see a solicitor before signing it [not the labour relations agency people - a proper solicitor]?

randombloke_2

Jarndyce wrote: »

A Compromise Agreement is not 'effectively a redundancy', it is a mutual agreement to terminate a contract of employment. Whether the DWP class that in the same way as a resignation for benefit assessment purposes I don't know, but I'm sure they will see it differently than a compulsory redundancy or a dismissal, say.

You need to explain this to the DWP. Show them a copy of the agreement if necessary. I can't say what their rules are in such circumstances, but whatever happens as long as you keep telling them the truth you shouldn't be criticised for it.

ok cheers. Thats maybe where the grey area is coming from then.

I'll be doing as you suggest and let them make a decision accordingly.

randombloke_2

LittleVoice wrote: »

Where do you live? In the UK?
Who are these "Labour Relations Agency" people?
Did they explain to you what it meant and all the consequences to you of signing?
Who paid them?

Northern Ireland.

I cant post links as i am a new user but if you google labour relations agency their site comes up first.

They are a non profit making organisation, who dont charge a fee for their services for this kind of thing.

Yes, they did explain the consequences of signing. I am otherwise very happy with the outcome - other than the exit status.

randombloke_2

Sambucus_Nigra wrote: »

Was it written into your compromise agreement that you would be classed as having been made redundant?

Did you see a solicitor before signing it [not the labour relations agency people - a proper solicitor]?

No it wasnt - and maybe thats the grey area - for me anyway.

Yes, met with a proper solicitor too - an independent one that i paid.

randombloke_2

It sounds like i might have been hinging too much on their word that my reason for leaving would be logged as 'redundancy'. Presumably they have either went back on that OR are telling the DHSS (or whatever they're called) that this was a compromise agreement scenario which they are interpreting as 'resignation', as opposed to my belief that it would have been interpreted as 'redundancy'.

I will explain this to the DHSS people

whitelabel

i had a compromise agreement and when i signed on, I initially stated unfair dismissal (i along with some other managers were asked to leave that day with no notice (it suited me as i was going to hand my resignation in the folowing day ) ), the dwp asked if I had spoken to someone to claim via a tribunal and I said it had been sorted via a compromise agreement but a condition of that was that I officially could not even discuss the agreement exisited. they asked how much i got and I said it was with the allowed limits but as stated i couldnt dicuss it. they didnt query further and my case was allowed to proceed.
mine didnt state the circumstances under which employment ended (eg fired or resigned etc) but did agree what reference i would get (I hope yours did) they also paid an agreed amount for a solicitor of my choosing to look over agreement and advise me etc.
Ask to speak to a descicion maker rather than just an admin person at job centre (may need to phone and ask for a call back) and explain the situation again.

good luck