Compromise Agreements Solicitors & Lawyers » Contract of Employment

Employment Law Advice – Employment Lawyer – Compromise Agreement – Employment Solicitors

admin — Sun, 27 Jun 2010 21:55:20 +0000

It is important to note that a contract of employment must include at the least the statutory minimum notice period. Where an employment contract contains a notice period that is less than the statutory notice period, this clause would be void. The current statutory minimum notice periods are as follows:

One week if the employee’s period of continuous employment is between one month and two years;
One additional week for each full year of continuous employment between two and 12 years;
12 weeks if the period of continuous employment is 12 years or more.

The statutory minimum notice period can be lengthened by contract, but cannot be shortened.

Employers often reserve the right to pay an employee in lieu of giving notice (payment in lieu of notice or P.I.L.O.N) and must adhere to at least the statutory minimum notice if a longer notice period is not provided in the contract of employment.

If you require further information please contact us at enquiries@rtcooperssolicitors.com or visit one of the following pages on employment law:

© RT COOPERS, 2010. This Briefing Note does not provide a comprehensive or complete statement of the law relating to the issues discussed nor does it constitute legal advice. It is intended only to highlight general issues. Specialist legal advice should always be sought in relation to particular circumstances.

Employment Lawyers London – Employment Solicitors – Compromise Agreement Solicitors London

admin — Wed, 02 Jun 2010 12:33:21 +0000

An employee must ensure that any reason given by an employer in a compromise agreement for the employee leaving his/her employment is accurate.

Commonly, compromise agreements will say “your employment shall terminate on the Termination Date by reason of redundancy” or “your employment shall terminate on the Termination Date by mutual agreement”. It is not unheard of for a compromise agreement to state that an employee’s employment will terminate “due to capability”, where this assertion might be contended by the employee, so it is important that an employee attempts to negotiate such expressions out of the compromise agreement as this could have an adverse effect on the employee’s endeavours to secure subsequent employment. The reason being that an employer could refer to this reason for leaving in the employee’s reference.

If you require further information please contact us at enquiries@rtcooperssolicitors.com or visit one of the following pages on employment law:

Employment Lawyers – Post Termination Provisions

admin — Wed, 05 May 2010 18:03:48 +0000

Post Termination Obligations

When senior executives are leaving a company, the company may add additional clauses to their compromise agreements to ensure that they are bound. A typical clause would be

“You acknowledge that you will continue to be bound by the terms of your employment contract in relation to Confidentiality, Intellectual Property, Inventions and Patents and Post-Termination Obligations.”

If you require further information please contact us at enquiries@rtcooperssolicitors.com or visit one of the following pages on employment law:

Compromise Agreements – Settlement Payments

admin — Fri, 02 Apr 2010 06:58:11 +0000

A number of employers are choosing to pay the statutory payments to employees on redundancy. This is the minimum that an employer can pay an employee.

Payments above the statutory amount are at the discretion of the employer (unless otherwise agreed between the employer and employee).

If you require further information please contact us at enquiries@rtcooperssolicitors.com or visit one of the following pages on employment law:

Compromise Agreements – Non Solicitation Clauses – Restrictive Covenants

admin — Wed, 03 Feb 2010 08:49:42 +0000

Where employees are senior executives, employers are reinforcing the non solicitation clauses in the compromise agreement even though such clauses are already set out in the employee’s contract of employment.

A restrictive covenant in relation to other employees might state:-

The employee shall not at any time during the period of twelve months from the date of termination of your employment (twelve months is typical and enforceable):

either directly or indirectly, solicit or entice away or endeavour to solicit or entice away from the employer or any Group Company of the employer either on the employee’s behalf or on behalf of any other person, firm or corporation, any person employed by the employer or any Group Company of the employer at the termination date with whom the employee shall have had dealings in the course of the employee’s employment at any time in the period of twelve months preceding the employee’s termination date whether or not any such person would commit a breach of contract by reason of the person leaving the employer.

If you require further information please contact us at enquiries@rtcooperssolicitors.com or visit one of the following pages:

Employment Lawyers – Compromise Agreements Solicitors

admin — Mon, 25 Jan 2010 23:53:08 +0000

If you are on gardening leave and have been given a termination date for the termination of your employment, you may be required to notify your current employer if you have been offered a new job before the end of the termination date.

Usually once the employee notifies the employer, the employee’s employment would come to an end within 7 -14 days of notifying the employer.

All of these terms should be covered in your compromise agreement, if applicable.

If you require further information please contact us at enquiries@rtcooperssolicitors.com or visit one of the following pages:

Employment Lawyers London – Expenses Compromise Agreements

admin — Thu, 26 Nov 2009 00:45:45 +0000

It is worth mentioning again that if you are an employee and you have been asked to sign a compromise agreement, you should submit your final expenses claim (form) to your employer within a specificed time (usually this time period is set out in your contract of employment). This is usually within five days of completion and approval of these expenses. Expenses are usually paid by the employer in the normal way. Employers will usually reimburse an employee for any expenses reasonably and necessarily incurred in the proper performance of an employee’s duties on production of the appropriate receipts and in accordance with the employer’s expenses policy.

Breach of Confidential Information – Compromise Agreements

admin — Sat, 29 Aug 2009 16:24:06 +0000

We have addressed the topic of confidentiality many times before. We are still finding that both employers and employees are at risk of breaching the confidentiality provisions in compromise agreements. For employers it is usually in relation to references. For employees they sometimes do not know what they are allowed to disclose to their new employers or to use in their new business ventures. Surely, as an employee you are more likely to use in your new business what you know best – but how did you obtain this information? We see employees trying to set up very similar websites to their past employers, your employmnent contract may not allow this.

You should be aware of the risk of breach of confidential information.

Warranties in Compromise Agreements Cont’d

admin — Fri, 10 Jul 2009 21:14:58 +0000

We are continuing with our discussion on warranties in compromise agreements. Our previous entries explain a number of warranties that you will have to give to your employer. One of the key warranties is that:

1. You have received independent legal advice on all and any claims that you might be able to bring against your Employer in the Employer Tribunal and the High Court/County Court in respect of your employment and termination of employment.

2. You further warrant you have reviewed such claims with the Independent Adviser and been advised upon the possibility of pursuing such claims and you waive your rights to pursue such claims)

i. You have received from the Independent Adviser independent legal advice as to the terms and effect of your compromise agreement and in particular as to its effect on your ability to pursue your rights before an Employment Tribunal in respect of each of the claims referred to in your compromise agreement (some of these rights are listed in previous entries under warranties); and
ii. At the time when the Independent Adviser gave advice to you in respect of the terms and effect of your compromise agreement, you were advised that there was in force a contract of insurance or an indemnity provided for members of a professional body in respect of any claim by you in respect of loss arising as a consequence of the advice given by the Independent Adviser.

Warranties in Compromise Agreements Cont’d

admin — Wed, 24 Jun 2009 08:05:27 +0000

2. You further warrant you have reviewed such claims with the Independent Adviser and been advised upon the possibility of pursuing such claims and you waive your rights to pursue such claims. The warranties that we have discussed in this blog and which you will be required to give to your Employer, do not apply to the following:-

Any claim to enforce an Employee’s pension rights which have accrued up to the date of the compromise agreement under the Pension Scheme;
Any personal injury claim which an Employee is not aware as at the date of the compromise agreement; and
Any claim necessary to enforce the terms of the compromise agreement.

More regulations in the next blog entry.