Resign or take a Settlement Agreement?

Bleached1

Hi All,

I am in a bit of a predicament, I am a stock broker and I am not sure what to do in this situation.

My line manager has been treating me unfairly (excessive and unjustified criticism) and she is keen to make me leave the firm. She has advised that I will be put on a performance improvement plan. I met with HR and described my treatment by her and they have offered me a Settlement Agreement.

Under the Settlement Agreement they will:
- pay me my salary for the notice period in one lump sum
- let me choose the termination date so I can go on gardening leave
- let me keep my work blackberry (no sim)
- give me a standard reference (not sure if they will give me a non-standard one anyway but I called the HR people and they say they give the same reference regardless of what has happened internally (risk management?)
The culture in the team, as you can imagine is male driven and they are quite laddish/cowboys so it would be in the firm’s interest have me sign a gagging clause. They have made remarks about me as a girl but I fight back (have to be tough on the floor!) but it’s the thought of being pushed out that is more hurting!

I have done ample research on this matter but I wanted to know what your thoughts were. I am worried that my next employer will know that I settled with the firm (rather than a normal resignation) and incorrectly assume that I did something wrong!

Can anyone provide any advice on if there will be an audit trail that I settled with my employer? E.g. on my P45/P60 because if they see an ex gratia payment it suggests settlement which suggest I was mistreated by the firm or that I was underperforming (neither of which are good for the new employer to know).

Many thanks,

B

Undervalued

Bleached1 wrote: »

Hi All,

I am in a bit of a predicament, I am a stock broker and I am not sure what to do in this situation.

My line manager has been treating me unfairly (excessive and unjustified criticism) and she is keen to make me leave the firm. She has advised that I will be put on a performance improvement plan. I met with HR and described my treatment by her and they have offered me a Settlement Agreement.

Under the Settlement Agreement they will:
- pay me my salary for the notice period in one lump sum
- let me choose the termination date so I can go on gardening leave
- let me keep my work blackberry (no sim)
- give me a standard reference (not sure if they will give me a non-standard one anyway but I called the HR people and they say they give the same reference regardless of what has happened internally (risk management?)
The culture in the team, as you can imagine is male driven and they are quite laddish/cowboys so it would be in the firm’s interest have me sign a gagging clause. They have made remarks about me as a girl but I fight back (have to be tough on the floor!) but it’s the thought of being pushed out that is more hurting!

I have done ample research on this matter but I wanted to know what your thoughts were. I am worried that my next employer will know that I settled with the firm (rather than a normal resignation) and incorrectly assume that I did something wrong!


Can anyone provide any advice on if there will be an audit trail that I settled with my employer? E.g. on my P45/P60 because if they see an ex gratia payment it suggests settlement which suggest I was mistreated by the firm or that I was underperforming (neither of which are good for the new employer to know).

I don't think anybody can give you a definitive answer to that.

If the normal custom and practice is only to give basic references then that helps considerably.

Settlement agreements normally contain a confidentiality clause normally prohibiting both parties from disclosing that the agreement exists except under certain limited circumstances.

Despite that it is of course very difficult when the prospective employer picks up the phone for an off the record chat. As soon as somebody says "I can't answer that" it will set alarm bells ringing.

But what is the alternative? Much the same can happen if your simply resign, particularly if you have no job to go to. An obvious question is "Why" and you will need a convincing answer. Even then any off the record chat will tend to reveal that all was not too happy.

Crazy_Jamie

Undervalued wrote: »

Despite that it is of course very difficult when the prospective employer picks up the phone for an off the record chat. As soon as somebody says "I can't answer that" it will set alarm bells ringing.

Not necessarily. It's not unusual for companies to provide standard references and refuse to discuss employees beyond that, even for an 'off the record' chat. There's no reason why that would set alarm bells ringing any more than the prospective employer would assume that that's just the standard way that the previous employer does things. And as you say, the settlement agreement is likely to have a confidentiality clause in it anyway, which makes it highly unlikely that a prospective employer would find out about it. If the prospective employer really likes the OP, mere speculation as to the situation with the last job would hopefully not be enough to jeopardise that situation.

Of course no one can say definitively as to what the effect of this may be on your future employment. Different companies will react differently to the situation (insofar as they are told what happened). But given that uncertainty the more important considerations are the practical ones. I appreciate that it hurts to be pushed out of a job, but unfortunately such situations are not uncommon.

Ultimately if you're being subjected to the treatment that you describe and there's little prospect of it being resolved, moving on may be the best practical solution. It's not a matter of them 'winning' to 'getting away' with something; it's about you being happy at work. Sticking to principles is all well and good, but in some situations that can be more trouble than it's worth. What is your alternative? You say it is in their interests to have you subject to a gagging order, but what would you do with that information? Bring a claim in the Employment Tribunal? That could be a possibility depending on the circumstances, but is a big investment in terms of time and resources, as well as emotionally. If you have a viable alternative of essentially having an agreed clean break from the company, that may just be the better option for you personally. It's certainly something that seems to merit serious consideration in this case.

Mersey_2

I agree with the above from Crazy Jamie.


It really has to be a personal decision.


Whilst from what you say there has been bullying and potentially sexist discrimination, such cases in Court or the ET are rare. I do know of a female lawyer who brought and won such a claim; but, unfortunately people tend not to bring such actions as they fear it may mean they become known in the industry/city and so prospective employers may be wary of the perceived 'risk' of taking them on (however unfair that perception may be as it was the employer in the wrong for allowing such a culture to go unchallenged).

jobbingmusician

I would take the settlement agreement - but please note that you will have to get legal advice in order for this agreement to be binding. The employer should pay for that. (For this reason I haven't completed the poll yet)

theoretica

What are they offering you which you wouldn't get if you resigned? A second hand blackberry, and gardening leave rather than working your notice?

Bleached1

Thank you for the kind replies.

I am on my way out of the firm regardless, its just a case of whether I resign in the normal way or I sign a settlement agreement (what they have currently offered is worse than resigning normally) so I will ask for more money and and amendment to the timings.

I am intending to ask for a few more months salary (serve my notice so I am going to "employed" whilst searching for a job) and ask for a lump sum at the end for them to buy my silence. I note that they upped the money offered without me asking so I think they are keen to get me to sign.

I am in no way intending to take my firm to court at all, but they dont know that and I guess they want to tie the loose ends just in case I do. The firm/team has a bit of a reputation and it would look bad if this kind of news gets out, think cowboys who make a lot of money for the firm but don't follow the rules 100%!

theoretica wrote: »

What are they offering you which you wouldn't get if you resigned? A second hand blackberry, and gardening leave rather than working your notice?

They are actually offering less with the added hassle of me agreeing to sign away my legal rights!! I get gardening leave anyway as it would be cruel to make be sit out my notive when the team basically know I have gone to HR!

Undervalued

Bleached1 wrote: »

Thank you for the kind replies.

I am on my way out of the firm regardless, its just a case of whether I resign in the normal way or I sign a settlement agreement (what they have currently offered is worse than resigning normally) so I will ask for more money and and amendment to the timings.

I am intending to ask for a few more months salary (serve my notice so I am going to "employed" whilst searching for a job) and ask for a lump sum at the end for them to buy my silence. I note that they upped the money offered without me asking so I think they are keen to get me to sign.

I am in no way intending to take my firm to court at all, but they dont know that and I guess they want to tie the loose ends just in case I do. The firm/team has a bit of a reputation and it would look bad if this kind of news gets out, think cowboys who make a lot of money for the firm but don't follow the rules 100%!



They are actually offering less with the added hassle of me agreeing to sign away my legal rights!! I get gardening leave anyway as it would be cruel to make be sit out my notive when the team basically know I have gone to HR!

That may be their normal practice but it is not a right. They could insist you work your notice and give you the most tedious jobs possible for three months!

steampowered

As you work in financial services for a stock broker, I imagine there is a clear industry practice that only standard form neutral references will be given.

Based on what you've said, I personally would take the settlement agreement, but it is ultimately up to you.

Bleached1

Undervalued wrote: »

That may be their normal practice but it is not a right. They could insist you work your notice and give you the most tedious jobs possible for three months!

I think you fundamentally do not understand liability management and risk management. hmmm make this girl who has been suggesting she has been mistreated so she can sit in the enviroment that she is suffering in and potentially gather more evidence for her potential case?

annandale

I'd take the settlement agreement.

Lots of people are in similar situations to you. Doesn't mean you won't work again.

Im not sure what you mean by case, but if its constructive dismissal a very tiny percentage of those cases actually win..

I would doubt very much that there would be shy audit trail on your p60. Certainly wasn't on mine