As a consequence of the current situation with Covid-19, we have seen an increase in enquiries for settlement agreements.
It is unfortunately inevitable in these very uncertain times, that people are at a much higher risk of being made redundant and/or receiving a settlement offer to leave the business.
Whilst our procedure has always been to see clients face to face with regards to a settlement agreement, we have and can deal with these remotely in the current situation. In fact in March 2020, we dealt with a mass redundancy programme consisting of 40 employees. This should have taken place in person but due to the developments with the lockdown, they were instead done via a combination of Skype and telephone.
You must obtain independent legal advice upon the document before you sign the same and your employer will insist upon this. As a result, your employer will pay for the legal advice you have to take upon the terms of the agreement.
An appointment can be arranged and can take place either via telephone or by Skype. There will be requirements as far as identification is concerned but we can discuss these with you individually.
The advice would then be provided and if there are no issues at all with the document, you would be able to sign the document and either email this to us or drop a hard copy off at our Oldham office which remains open for business (although not to the public without prior arrangement). The agreement would then be sent to your employers in the normal way by us.
Alternatively, if there are amendments required to the agreement, a letter would need to be sent to your employer to ask that the agreement be changed. Once these changes have been done, the same process would apply as above.
Rest assured therefore that although the current times are very uncertain, challenging and daunting, we can still deal with your settlement agreement just as we have always done.
If you do require advice and assistance with a settlement agreement, please give us a call on 0161 665 3502.
