Settlement agreement lawyers in Bath
Specialist employment lawyers serving Bath and the surrounding areas.
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- Bath based settlement agreement lawyers ready to help
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If you’ve been offered a settlement agreement our team of Bath settlement agreement lawyers can help.
Located in Bath our team of settlement agreement solicitors will guide you through the entire process.
When you are offered a settlement agreement you must take independent legal advice. Whether you are local to Bath or not, our team are ready to help. Our settlement agreement solicitors will review your documents, get to know your wants, and needs, so that we can best advise you.
We know that getting through the legal wording of the agreement can be confusing and daunting so our settlement agreement lawyers will make it easy for you. They will talk you through the implications and help you understand the agreement. Our team’s knowledge and expertise mean that you can relax and know that the process is in good hands.
There is often a need of urgency when signing a settlement agreement and so we will always do our best to offer appointments with a settlement agreement lawyer for the next working day.
Our team in Bath are experts at:
- negotiating an increased settlement, where appropriate
- protecting your reputation
- ensuring the payment terms are fair and tax efficient
- negotiating references, announcements, and confidentiality terms
- advising you on the legal claims you are giving up
And anything else you may require to secure the best settlement agreement.
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Frequently asked questions about settlement agreements
Our Bath based settlement agreement lawyers are on hand to answer any questions you may have. Discover more below, or just speak to them direct.
A Settlement Agreement is a legally binding contract between you and your employer which normally sets out the terms under which you give up your rights to bring legal claims against your employer. This will include details about how your employment will end and any compensation you will be paid.
Settlement agreement payments are often tax free up £30,000. The rate at which you will be taxed on settlements over £30,000 will depend on your earnings in that tax year. Other payments in settlement agreements such as notice pay, wages or bonuses are normally taxable. If you have not been given notice or a payment in lieu of notice then some of your settlement agreement payment may be taxable.
Settlement Agreements are often used for redundancy situations where your employer does not want to go through a lengthy process, is paying an enhanced redundancy payment, or is worried that your redundancy may not be fair.
You should not feel forced to sign a settlement agreement. Your solicitor should advise you on the value of your claims and whether the settlement agreement payment and terms are fair. If you don’t sign an agreement, you retain your right to bring legal claims against your employer but you may not receive the payments proposed in the settlement agreement.
If you agree to all the terms proposed by your employer the process will not take long. You will need to send us your contract of employment and the settlement agreement. We will review these documents and offer you an appointment within a day where possible. The advice meeting normally lasts up to an hour.
You are legally required to be advised by a lawyer or qualified Trade Union representative before entering into a legally binding settlement agreement and giving up your legal claims.
Your employer should contribute to the cost of your settlement agreement advice. The contribution is normally from £350 to £500 + VAT. If you ask us to carry out additional work, employers may increase their contribution to cover this work.
Employers will often say or write the phrase ”without prejudice” when corresponding with you about a settlement agreement. ‘Without prejudice’ applies to any communication which is made for the purposes of resolving an existing or anticipated legal claim. If communications are truly ‘without prejudice’ then they cannot be disclosed in legal proceedings.
Your employer may ask you take part in a Protected Conversation – a confidential discussion about the termination of your employment on agreed terms. Provided that your employer has not behaved improperly, the protected conversation cannot be disclosed in unfair dismissal proceedings only.
The solicitor gave me confidence that I could seek redress and negotiated a successful outcome.
A brilliant service from the first call through to the final settlement.
My lawyer was very helpful from start to finish. He explained everything clearly and exceeded expectations.
The solicitor achieved a much better result and took away the strain.