/ 07 May 2020

Redundancy and Covid-19

Many employers are carrying out reorganisation of their employees and workers due to the reduction in business activity caused by Covid 19. This may result in a reduction in staff that involves redundancy procedures for employees and termination of workers contracts.

Hanne & Co provides legal advice and support to employers when a reorganisation or restructure of staff is required. We provide advice on individual and collective redundancy procedures and can provide an employer with tailored legal documents such as redundancy consultation letters to the employee, Notice of Redundancy, and individualised settlement agreements for use when terminating employees’ or workers’ contracts of employment.

Please refer to my previous article for a general overview of settlement agreements and the statutory requirements for them to be valid.

Settlement Agreements for Employers

It is important that the employer tailor the settlement agreement terms to meet the individual circumstances of terminating the employee or worker’s contract of employment. It is a requirement that the settlement agreement specifically refer to the complaints or legal claims being compromised, which makes the drafting of the agreement a critical step to ensure the agreement has the desired effect.

A settlement agreement can be advantageous for an employer in that it provides finality to the situation and certainty in the terms of the agreement, protects against future Tribunal or Court claims being brought against the employer, and provides protection from damage to reputation and other negative publicity with the use of non-derogatory and confidentiality clauses.

Hanne & Co’s Settlement Agreement Service for Employers

Hanne & Co provide legal advice and support to employers to apply lawful employment processes, protecting the employer from claims in the Tribunal and Court.

We can provide advice and support on applying individual and collective redundancy consultation with employees, leading to termination of employment for reason of redundancy.

As part of any redundancy process a settlement agreement may be considered the most advantageous way of avoiding claims and managing risks, ensuring the employee is paid outstanding contractual and redundancy payments and that the employee has agreed to amount of those termination payments within the terms of settlement agreement.

Hanne & Co can provide a tailored settlement agreement service to the employer for each individual employee. We provide a short form or long form draft agreement that can be individualised for the employer’s needs. Our service includes liaising with the employee or worker’s legal advisor during the settlement agreement negotiating process and providing advice to the employer as the settlement agreement negotiations progress, ensuring the employer achieves the most advantageous terms possible in the circumstances.

Costs

Hanne & Co charge a fixed fee for advising an employer on the redundancy process, preparing the draft settlement agreement, and negotiating and agreeing the settlement agreement with the employee, on behalf of the employer.

The fee for this service is £1,500 + VAT.

If there is more than one employee being made redundant, we can arrange for a competitive fixed fee quote for that work.

Get in touch
Call us on +44 20 7228 0017