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Compromise agreements

The challenge for employers

"Compromise agreements have become a common feature of human resource management, but too many lawyers and managers approach them on a 'one size fits all basis'. For too often ordinary employees face long and off-putting agreements containing irrelevant clauses – and quite often the HR manager who has created them has missed some vital wording to ensure that the claims which do need to be settled are covered. At the other extreme agreeing  a severance agreement for a senior executive requires tact and negotiating ability – and will raise important tax issues." 

Owen Warnock, Partner

How we can help

Eversheds will tailor the advice and the documents to the situation the employer is actually facing.

Routine cases
We will not fill the compromise agreement with unnecessary clauses that lead to pointless debates with other lawyers. We will cover the key issues and give you practical advice to maximise the chances of early signatures.

Senior employees
Negotiating the terms of a compromise agreement with somebody senior can be a stressful experience for those senior managers who are tasked with effecting the exit. Our role is to identify how best to approach the negotiation by establishing: 

• What is the basis for the initial discussion - performance, conduct, breakdown in the relationship of trust and confidence? 
• How do you position this with the individual concerned? 
• What can be offered which is of low cost to the business but high value to the individual which can save thousands of pounds in the negotiation? 
• How do you do all of this quickly?
• How do you avoid the business being destabilised whilst the exit is completed?
• Handling Stock Exchange requirements.