Settlement agreement advice needed!!

bike2

Hello all.
Background,
I work in catering, I have worked for the firm for 7 years. My annual salary is £34880.

At the beginning of June this year I was suspended from work by my manager on suspicion of theft of cupcakes from work. I was and am totally innocent of all accusations made against me.

I was duly invited in for the investigation by my manger 4 days later where I gave my statements and evidence. My manager decided that the investigation be taken to a disciplinary meeting which happened 10 days later.

At the meeting I again gave my statement and presented evidence and some of my own evidence which my manager did not bother to obtain as it exonerated me from all wrong doing. I was found innocent after less than 20 minutes and told to return to work as normal the following Monday as usual.

I returned to work, and when my manger started his shift he invited me into his office for a 'return to work chat' where he effectively tried to change the terms and conditions of my job role and take responsibilities away from me, tried to change my working hours by forcing me to work all over time shifts and work my 40 hour week around the business which would mean I wouldn't be able to pick my daughter up from school etc.

I said to him that i would not put up with his demands as he was doing it as a punishment for me keeping my job and that he was bitter that he had not been able to get me fired.

I called HR and was asked that day to come in for a meeting with HR and my Area Director.
At this meeting I explained what had happened that morning at work and that I was not prepared to be treated this way.
I was told by my area director that there was a bad atmosphere at work as the staff were worried by me being back at work after they had been asked to give statements against me and that there needed to be a mediation meeting on how I returned to work after what had happened. I explained that I had been found innocent and that i should be allowed to continue to do my job as normal.

I was subsequently asked to work at another site until this meeting had taken place.
So i went to work at this other site for a day, then the events caught up with me and I felt that i had been treated very unfairly and decided to seek my doctors advise as i was starting to feel down about it all.

He signed me off with depression for four weeks & told me to enjoy myself and do positive thing to help my frame of mind which I did.

Last week my sick note ran out and I contacted HR as to if i could return to my normal place of work. I was told to work at another site for a week and then to come in on Friday 2/8/13 for the mediation meeting between my area director, my manger and HR.

At the meeting on the 2/8 , my manger was not present, only the area director and HR. at this meeting I was asked if i would mind having a without prejudice talk to which I agreed.
the main point of the conversation was that

• they will not allow me to return to my normal place of work as it might affect the contract
• they are no other jobs at my level within the company
• i was offered £10000 to walk away, they would pay legal fees and give me a good reference.
• or i go down the redundancy route.

At the end of the meeting i was asked what i think. to which i replied that
I have been accused of theft, suspended for three weeks, found innocent, returned to work only to have my manager try & demote me & change my T's&C's and am no longer allowed to return to my job i have had for 7 years and being asked to leave for the sake of the business.........how would you feel?

There is another meeting due next Tuesday where I am expected to give my response.............


WHAT SHOULD I DO????????????

IS £10000 enough?

Any advice welcome.

andyuk01

Ring round a couple of local employment solicitors and book some free 30min sessions with them

You'll have a better idea if this is a fair offer or not then, they'll also advise on the wording in the compromise agreement

Your company will normally pay out somewhere between £250 and £750 for legal advice so it wont cost you anything

Just be clear on what you want out of this - money to walk away, reinstatement, your day in court, same job different location

themull1

Why would the staff have given statements against you, surely they would have to tell the truth? would there be a bad feeling if you went back to work or are the managers just giving an excuse/reason to let you go?

quidsy

Get legal advice & take a solictor to the meeting with you. Don't waste your time trying to find out what to do on here. This is your lively hood & your reputation at stake.

Nick_C

You only have two options. Agree a settlement or take them to a tribunal for constructive dismissal.

Either way, you need to accept that your employment with that company is effectively at an end.

Spin the process out as long as possible, as you are on full pay.

They will want to settle, and you should regard £10K as their first offer. They will not want to go to a tribunal because of the money it will cost them, the damage to their reputation, and the fact that they will almost certainly lose.

I think realistically, even if you won a tribunal, you would not want to be reinstated. The atmosphere would be unbearable.

Are you in a trades union? If so, they should be helping you.

Have you read your contract of employment and the firm's redundancy policy? I would look at how much you are entitled to for redundancy as a starting point, and then double it as your opening offer.

Bear in mind that any redundancy settlement (up to £30K) is tax free, and you are entitled to tax free pay in lieu of notice on top of this.

I was in a similar position a few years ago. I was offered £18K initially and settled for £28K. I was also invited to draft my own reference and we agreed on the final wording.

If you reach a settlement, you will be bound by a confidentiality clause. You mustn't discuss your case or say anything detrimental about the company.

You must be very angry and stressed right now. Stay strong. Good luck.

anamenottaken

Nick_C wrote: »

You only have two options. Agree a settlement or take them to a tribunal for constructive dismissal. (Chances of employees winning a constructive dismissal case are notoriously slim.)

Either way, you need to accept that your employment with that company is effectively at an end.

Spin the process out as long as possible, as you are on full pay.

They will want to settle, and you should regard £10K as their first offer. They will not want to go to a tribunal because of the money it will cost them, the damage to their reputation, and the fact that they will almost certainly lose. (Though the OP seems to have a good case, this is not certain.)

I think realistically, even if you won a tribunal, you would not want to be reinstated. The atmosphere would be unbearable.

Are you in a trades union? If so, they should be helping you.

Have you read your contract of employment and the firm's redundancy policy? I would look at how much you are entitled to for redundancy as a starting point, and then double it as your opening offer. (I know it was mentioned by the OP as a "route to go down" but redundancy as the genuine reason for dismissal seems doubtful to me. However, using double the figure to begin works if the company has an enhanced scheme - if it is statutory only then the weekly cap prevents getting to a useful figure IMO.)

Bear in mind that any redundancy settlement (up to £30K) is tax free, and you are entitled to tax free pay in lieu of notice on top of this. (PILON is not necessarily tax free and most employers these days will pay a calculated net sum (ie not deducting tax but working out what it would be if it had been taxed and NI-ed) or will deduct tax.)

I was in a similar position a few years ago. I was offered £18K initially and settled for £28K. I was also invited to draft my own reference and we agreed on the final wording.

If you reach a settlement, you will be bound by a confidentiality clause. You mustn't discuss your case or say anything detrimental about the company.

You must be very angry and stressed right now. Stay strong. Good luck.

.....................

Nick_C

I agree that this would not be a genuine redundancy, but its a route taken by employers in situations like this.

As to the money and the tax free status, its all negotiable.

anamenottaken

Nick_C wrote: »

I agree that this would not be a genuine redundancy, but its a route taken by employers in situations like this.

As to the money and the tax free status, its all negotiable.

And then get taken to an ET because redundancy was not the real reason for the dismissal.

I've attended an ET hearing where the complainant brought the case because they had dismissed him quoting the grounds as being redundancy but he said the real reason was that he was not competent in doing the job (evidenced by disciplinary meeting notes) and that that was why they wanted him out of the company.

Amount of money negotiable, yes, but tax free status - negotiable? Negotiable between which parties? HMRC anywhere in there?

Nick_C

Though my post was clear, but obviously not.

If the employee and the employer reach a settlement (under a Compromise Agreement or a COT3) then it can be treated as redundancy, giving the employee the benefit of tax free payments.

The question as to whether the employee has to serve a notice period (on gardening leave and paying tax on the salary) or is given pay in lieu of notice (non taxable) is open to negotiation if the two parties aim to reach an agreement.

The agreement would include a requirement for the employee to waive their right to go to ET.

princessdon

Just to be careful here

You said they wouldn't allow you back as it affects the contract.

Is this to do with working your hours and not the business?

If so, then what is in your contract? Most of us don't get to leave early to pick kids up from school. If they are saying you are refusing to work hours needed for the business and they don't have a job of your grade elsewhere then they "may" have grounds for valid redundancy.

Just because your employer was flexible before if not contractual it can be changed to suit business needs.

anamenottaken

Nick_C wrote: »

Though my post was clear, but obviously not.

If the employee and the employer reach a settlement (under a Compromise Agreement or a COT3) then it can be treated as redundancy, giving the employee the benefit of tax free payments.

The question as to whether the employee has to serve a notice period (on gardening leave and paying tax on the salary) or is given pay in lieu of notice (non taxable) is open to negotiation if the two parties aim to reach an agreement.

The agreement would include a requirement for the employee to waive their right to go to ET.

Are you saying that PILON is automatically non-taxable?