Compromise agreement without having a grievance or dispute with employer

Mr_Bigglesworth-jones

Hi all, this is my first ever post here, some friends suggested you guys might be able to help me so here goes(apologies in advance for the waffle) ... !

Basically i've worked for a smallish retailer for about 15 years now,mainly in a branch manager capacity which is my current role. In the last year the company changed quite a lot with mass redundancies, store closures ...the usual retail story !

I've never specifically had issues with management and last year was offered the position of head of buying and merchandising which I turned down for personal reasons, since then my relationship with management became slightly more strained

Last week I aired some concerns via email to the CEO who didnt bother to reply (this is normal) , then today I was just speaking to the HR person about why he hadnt replied and jokingly said that if there were more redundancies please consider me - she obviously explained that my store wasnt closing and my role couldnt be made redundant . Then she did say its possible that I could sign a compromise agreement and leave, she made a quick call to the CEO and he agreed and suggested i put a proposal down in writing (regarding how much I wanted to go )

I read up on compromise agreements and it seems they are only used in cases where an employee is being paid off not to make a claim against the company etc etc . i really dont think my email could scare them so much as it was just a list of minor concerns and frustrations which hadnt been resolved (most were concerning business things not personal)

I planned to leave and do a degree anyway and get a part time job so it probably suits me to give them a proposal, however I was wondering if you think that them trying to bundle me out like this could be construed as constructive dismissal at all?

Any thoughts or advice would be appreciated, thanks

Sycorax

I honestly don't think there's anything sinsister in this...unless you feel you were backed into a corner. It's common practise for organisations to ask exiting employees to sign a compromise agreement if they are being given some kind of payment as part of the exit.

Even in the cases of redundancy if someone is getting more than the statutary payment then it's often the case that a compromise agreement would be used. yes you do waive your rights to make certain types of claims, but that's what the payment is for...compensation for waiving these rights.

I'm speculating of course but it sounds more to me like, you've said you wanted to go, they couldn't legitimately make you redundant because the post wasn't redundant...so this was a way around it.

You don't have to sign the agreement and you don't have to leave, so I'm unclear as to where there would be cases to say you were forced out i.e. constructive dismissal. It'd be different if you resigned off the back of some kind of bullying, but that doesn't seem to be the case here.

zzzLazyDaisy

[QUOTE=

I planned to leave and do a degree anyway and get a part time job so it probably suits me to give them a proposal, however I was wondering if you think that them trying to bundle me out like this could be construed as constructive dismissal at all?[/QUOTE]

But they are not 'trying to bundle you out'.

You have asked to be considered for redundancy. They have made it clear that they are not proposing to make redundancies, but that if you wish to leave, they will be willing to consider any proposals you may wish to put forward.

It is normal in these circumstances to use a compromise agreement to record what has been agreed.

Of course, you are right, a compromise agreement does mean that you are barred out from making a claim to a tribunal afterwards - hence the requirement that you consult an independent solicitor before signing it. If you really want to pursue the 'constructive dismissal' angle, then of course you should refuse to sign the agreement. But then you won't get any payment at all, and you would be on your own fighting a CD claim which statistically has less than 3% chance of success.

I know which option I would choose!

getmore4less

All above board.

the problem is how high to pitch the package.

What is the normal redundacy policy?

What is your notice period?

What is the length of service?

So how much to mutualy agree to terminate

If you look at say NHS they pay 1 month per year capped at ?? weeks.

that might be on the high side.

Statutory redundancy would be 1 week per year capped at £450pw* (each full year 42+ get an extra 50%) that with notice pay would be the low ball figure.


SOmewhere inbetween is probably about right.


* from Feb 2013

Mr_Bigglesworth-jones

Hi everyone, thanks for the replies ! Re-reading my post I was tired/angry etc and probably didnt word it very well

I think if anything I was just surprised that a company that normally takes weeks to ponder decisions on even the smallest of issues immediately came back to me and suggested a compromise agreement ...hence why I included phrases such as 'bundling out'.

I was suspicious that a compromise agreement was suggested simply because when I read the definition of compromise agreement it suggested it was only really used during proper disputes - that was my only basis for thinking about constructive dismissal purely because I felt they sounded guilty LOL ! Thanks for the 3% CD stat , I dont have any huge evidence and considering i wanted to leave anyway will just put in what I think is a reasonable proposal and hopefully leave amicably !

thanks again for your replies

dacouch

The CEO may have treated your email in the same way this Marine's C.O did.

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/uknews/defence/9784081/Decorated-Royal-Marine-officer-claims-he-was-sacked-for-whistleblowing-over-misuse-of-funds.html