Can I negotiate on a settlement agreement?

An employee can negotiate a settlement agreement, using leverage such as potential claims or the cost of formal HR processes, to improve terms like compensation, confidentiality, references, and obligations, often with legal support to handle the discussions on a without‑prejudice basis.

If you are an employee and have received a settlement agreement or proposed terms from your employer, it is possible to negotiate on these terms if you are not happy with what has been offered to you.

How can our Employment experts help?

We can assist you with negotiating fair settlement terms. This may include negotiating on the following:-

• Compensation payments;
• Restrictions and/or confidentiality clauses;
• An agreed reference; and
• Any obligations under the agreement.

To negotiate on a settlement agreement you will need some form of leverage. This may be a potential employment tribunal claim that you could pursue against your employer or the fact that your employer will need to carry out a lengthy HR process as an alternative to entering into a settlement agreement. The realities of having to deal with these processes (not to mention the expense) often draws employers into negotiating further on settlement agreements.

Negotiations will need to take place on a ‘without prejudice’ basis which means that the correspondence is ‘off the record’ and cannot be referred to in any future proceedings or in open correspondence.

We understand that negotiating with your employer on a settlement agreement can be daunting and stressful. This is why we offer assistance with negotiating on your behalf. We also offer assistance behind the scenes (i.e. where we can prepare correspondence for you to send to your employer without us being directly involved). This is something that we can discuss with you.

Get in touch with our experts today

If you would like assistance with a settlement agreement, please contact our Employment experts on 01202 525333 or email settlementagreement@ellisjones.co.uk