Settlement Agreement Review Service

This is the headline number — but it's not the only financial element. I examine:

• Notice pay: Are you being paid notice, or is it waived? Standard notice periods matter.
• Redundancy payment: If applicable, does it meet statutory minimums or contractual entitlements?
• Accrued holiday: Are you being paid for unused annual leave at the correct rate?
• Discretionary elements: Is the offer based on salary, bonus, or other components? Are any discretionary payments included?
• Tax treatment: How much is genuinely tax-free under the statutory exemption (typically up to £30,000)? Will you face an unexpected tax bill?
• Payment timing: When is the money paid? Is it conditional on signing, or are there staged payments?

Many employees are surprised to learn that their total settlement often looks smaller once tax is accounted for. I help you understand the net figure — what actually lands in your bank account.

Notice periods define when your employment formally ends. I check:

• Are you required to work notice? Or are you placed on garden leave (paid but not working)?
• Is notice waived entirely? Sometimes the cleanest approach — you leave immediately, receive a lump sum.
• What happens to benefits during notice? Health insurance, pension contributions, life insurance — do these continue?
• Are there conditions on notice payment? Some agreements make notice pay conditional on behaviour, confidentiality compliance, or cooperation.

A poorly drafted notice clause can create ambiguity about when your employment actually ends — which matters for references, benefits, and future employment.

These clauses restrict what you can do after leaving. They're often the most contentious element. I review:

• Non-compete clauses: Are you prevented from working for competitors? For how long? In what geographic area?
• Non-solicitation: Can you contact clients or staff from your previous employer? For how long?
• Non-dealing: Are you restricted from doing business with former clients?
• Garden leave periods: Sometimes agreements extend employment legally, even though you're not working, specifically to enforce non-competes.
• Enforceability: Are the restrictions reasonable in scope, duration, and geography? Overly broad restrictions may not be enforceable.

Restrictive covenants can have a real impact on your next job. If they're overly broad or poorly drafted, they might even create liability if you inadvertently breach them. Sometimes they're negotiable — especially if your role wasn't particularly senior or client-facing.

These dictate what you can say about your departure. Key points:

• Mutual vs one-way: Are both parties bound to confidentiality, or just you?
• Scope: What exactly is confidential? Employment terms, reasons for leaving, internal communications?
• Duration: Does confidentiality last indefinitely, or for a set period?
• Exceptions: Are there permitted disclosures (to family, legal advisers, tax authorities)?
• Settlement amount secrecy: Some agreements require you to keep the financial settlement confidential — this can create challenges with future references or explanations to new employers.

Overly broad confidentiality clauses can prevent you from discussing perfectly legitimate things — like explaining a gap in employment to a future employer, or sharing what happened with family. I help you understand what you can and can't say.

This clause addresses what happens if HMRC later questions the tax treatment of your settlement. I check:

• Who bears the risk? If HMRC assesses additional tax, who pays — you or your employer?
• Scope of indemnity: Is the employer responsible for all tax liabilities, or just specific elements?
• Practical impact: In reality, tax indemnities are rarely invoked — but they matter if your settlement's tax treatment is aggressive.

A proper tax indemnity protects you from unexpected bills if HMRC later disagrees with how the settlement was structured. Without it, you could face a tax bill years later.

These are statements you're confirming as true. Common warranties include:

• Outstanding issues: You confirm there are no other claims, grievances, or disputes outstanding.
• Confidential information: You confirm you've returned all company property and confidential documents.
• Compliance: You confirm you haven't breached employment terms or engaged in misconduct.
• Authority to enter agreement: You confirm you have capacity to sign and be bound by the agreement.

Warranties can create unexpected liability. If you later discover a claim you didn't know about at the time of settlement, a broad warranty clause could mean you're liable rather than your employer. I check whether warranties are appropriately scoped and whether they adequately reflect what you actually know.

What your employer will say about you to future employers matters significantly. I review:

• Reference agreement: Will your employer provide a reference at all? Or is the agreement silent on this?
• Scope of reference: Will they confirm only dates and job title, or are they willing to comment on performance?
• Neutral vs positive: Is the reference contractually required to be positive or neutral?
• Timing: Will they provide references immediately, or is there a delay?
• Script clauses: Some agreements provide an agreed reference statement you can use with all future employers.

A poor reference can haunt your job search. Settlement agreements should address this — ideally with an agreed reference script or a commitment to provide a positive reference. If the agreement is silent, you might face serious difficulties.

This is the core of the agreement. By signing, you waive your right to make certain claims. I check:

• Breadth of waiver: Are you giving up all employment claims, or only specific ones?
• Exceptions: Are there carve-outs? (Accrued pension, for instance, is typically excluded.)
• Tax claims: You typically can't waive rights in relation to tax matters — but the agreement should confirm this.
• Whistleblowing and public interest: By law, you can't waive rights to make protected disclosures. The agreement should confirm this.

The waiver clause directly determines what you're giving up. If the agreement fails to carve out certain rights that should be protected (like pension rights or whistleblowing), this is a significant problem that needs addressing before you sign.