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Settlement Agreement Guides
Plain-English answers from SRA-regulated employment specialists. No legal jargon, no fluff. Just what you need to know about settlement agreements, dismissal, redundancy, and the tax that goes with them.
- The basics
What Is a Settlement Agreement? (UK Employment Law, Explained for Employees)
What a UK settlement agreement is, the section 203(3) conditions that make one legally valid, who pays for advice, and how it differs from a PAYE Settlement Agreement.
6 min readRead guide → - Got an agreement
Just Received a UK Settlement Agreement: What to Do First
What a UK settlement agreement actually contains, the deadlines that matter, and the order of steps to take in the first 48 hours after receiving one.
6 min readRead guide → - Got an agreement
Expecting a UK Settlement Agreement: Signs and Preparation
How to recognise the signals that a UK settlement agreement is coming, what to gather before the offer lands, and the leverage available pre-offer.
6 min readRead guide → - Value & negotiation
How Much Should Your UK Settlement Agreement Be Worth?
What drives UK settlement agreement values, how the £30,000 tax-free allowance interacts with notice and bonus, and how to read whether the offer is fair.
7 min readRead guide → - Value & negotiation
Negotiating a UK Settlement Agreement: What Actually Works
How to approach settlement-agreement negotiation, where the leverage usually sits, what to ask for, and the realistic boundaries of what can be moved.
7 min readRead guide → - Value & negotiation
Settlement Agreement vs Employment Tribunal: Which Is Right For You?
When a settlement agreement is the better outcome, when tribunal makes sense, and how the timelines, costs, certainty, and risks compare for UK employees.
8 min readRead guide → - Employment exits
Unfair Dismissal: Your UK Rights and Time Limits
When unfair dismissal applies, what compensation you can claim, and how settlement agreements fit in. The 3-month tribunal deadline matters.
6 min readRead guide → - Money & contracts
Tax on UK Settlement Agreements
How the £30,000 tax-free allowance works, what counts as a termination payment, and the tax treatment of PILON, bonuses, and benefits.
5 min readRead guide → - Redundancy
Being Made Redundant: What It Means and What To Do
What redundancy means, what you are entitled to, the first steps to take, and how to check the process is genuine and fair before you sign anything.
6 min readRead guide → - Redundancy
Voluntary Redundancy: Should You Take It?
How voluntary redundancy pay and tax work, whether you can still claim benefits, and how to judge if the enhanced offer is worth taking.
6 min readRead guide → - Redundancy
Is Redundancy Pay Taxable? The £30,000 Rule
Why statutory redundancy pay is tax-free, how the £30,000 threshold works, what you pay on a £60,000 redundancy, and how PILON and NI are treated.
6 min readRead guide → - Redundancy
Redundancy Consultation: Your Rights and the Timeline
What a genuine redundancy consultation involves, how long it must last, what happens in the meetings, and what to do if your employer gets it wrong.
6 min readRead guide → - Redundancy
Redundancy Notice Period and Notice Pay
How much notice you are entitled to, whether you have to work it, when it starts, and whether taking a new job affects your redundancy pay.
6 min readRead guide → - Redundancy
The Redundancy Process and What Makes It Fair
The steps of a fair redundancy, what counts as a genuine redundancy, where redundancy sits among the fair reasons for dismissal, and fair selection criteria.
7 min readRead guide → - Redundancy
Is a Settlement Agreement the Same as Redundancy?
How redundancy and a settlement agreement differ, why employers often use both together, the tax treatment, and whether you should sign.
6 min readRead guide → - Employment exits
What Does Without Prejudice Mean?
What the without prejudice rule protects, when it applies, what a without prejudice letter or conversation is, and how it differs from a protected conversation.
6 min readRead guide → - Employment exits
Protected Conversations at Work Explained
What a protected conversation is under section 111A, what it does and does not protect, what improper behaviour means, and what to do if you have one.
6 min readRead guide → - Employment exits
Garden Leave: Your Rights and the Rules
What garden leave means, whether you still get paid, when a clause is needed, how it differs from PILON, and whether you can start a new job.
6 min readRead guide → - Money & contracts
Pay in Lieu of Notice (PILON): Meaning and Tax
What PILON is, why it is fully taxable under the PENP rules, when it should be paid, and how it differs from garden leave.
6 min readRead guide → - Money & contracts
Bonus and Deferred Compensation in a Settlement Agreement
Whether a discretionary or contractual bonus survives your exit, the Braganza duty, clawback terms, and what a settlement agreement can preserve of a deferred award.
7 min readRead guide → - Money & contracts
Regulatory References and Settlement Agreements
Why an agreed-reference clause is constrained by SYSC 22 for financial services roles, the six-year lookback, and what can still be negotiated.
7 min readRead guide → - Money & contracts
Share Options and RSUs in a Settlement Agreement
What happens to unvested RSUs, EMI options and Sharesave when you leave, good and bad leaver treatment, and how option gains are taxed.
7 min readRead guide → - Employment exits
Restrictive Covenants and Settlement Agreements
Whether a non-compete or non-solicitation clause is enforceable, how garden leave interacts with it, and what can be negotiated.
7 min readRead guide → - Value & negotiation
Vento Bands: Injury to Feelings Awards Explained
What Vento bands are, the three bands and the current Presidential Guidance figures, and how they feed into a settlement figure when a claim includes discrimination.
5 min readRead guide → - Employment exits
Acas Early Conciliation Explained
What Acas early conciliation is, when it is compulsory, how it pauses the tribunal time limit, and how settlement agreements and COT3s relate to it.
6 min readRead guide → - Employment exits
Without Prejudice Save As to Costs: What the Label Means
What the "save as to costs" label means, how it differs from plain without prejudice and from a protected conversation, and when it matters.
5 min readRead guide →
Got an actual settlement agreement?
We review same-day for £0 to you when your agreement includes a legal-fees clause (most do). Submit your details and a specialist solicitor will be in touch.