Expensive gagging of ex-staff. Why?

[daemon]

StottyEvo said:

rxe said:

Gagging is merely incidental. We use Compromise Agreements all the time. The basic situation is that someone is not performing, but to get rid of someone for poor performance is very hard, you need loads of evidence and it takes forever. The employee does not want to be there, you don't want them there. So you say 'here is a big chunk of change, if we give it to you, will you clear off and keep the details confidential?' If you get the number right, most people just sign.

I find it deeply depressing that this happens.

Its "depressing" but it happens. If an employer / employee relationship is broken to the point of being unrepairable, then a compromise agreement lets both parties walk away.

[Du1point8]

MarshPhantom said:

Thurbs said:

Happens all the time in the real world. I don't understand what the big deal is?

Any examples?

Yep... I got a compromise agreement, so did many others.

[StottyEvo]

daemon said:

StottyEvo said:

rxe said:

Gagging is merely incidental. We use Compromise Agreements all the time. The basic situation is that someone is not performing, but to get rid of someone for poor performance is very hard, you need loads of evidence and it takes forever. The employee does not want to be there, you don't want them there. So you say 'here is a big chunk of change, if we give it to you, will you clear off and keep the details confidential?' If you get the number right, most people just sign.

I find it deeply depressing that this happens.

Its "depressing" but it happens. If an employer / employee relationship is broken to the point of being unrepairable, then a compromise agreement lets both parties walk away.

I recall my previous PAYE employment, my equivalents in Birmingham would claim overtime all day Sunday (8hours) for an 8 desk computer move that they would occasionally complete on Friday in work time. When their card readings were checked (this is how the fraudulent claims were discovered/proven) they screamed foul play and breach of privacy. My employer backed down. When redundancy was upon us, these piss taking, work shy scam artists were apparently asking for £150,000 severance pay and an undisclosed agreement was reached.

A man of principle wouldn't let this happen, pity that there were scarcely present in the hierarchy of my old employment.

[daemon]

StottyEvo said:

daemon said:

StottyEvo said:

rxe said:

Gagging is merely incidental. We use Compromise Agreements all the time. The basic situation is that someone is not performing, but to get rid of someone for poor performance is very hard, you need loads of evidence and it takes forever. The employee does not want to be there, you don't want them there. So you say 'here is a big chunk of change, if we give it to you, will you clear off and keep the details confidential?' If you get the number right, most people just sign.

I find it deeply depressing that this happens.

Its "depressing" but it happens. If an employer / employee relationship is broken to the point of being unrepairable, then a compromise agreement lets both parties walk away.

I recall my previous PAYE employment, my equivalents in Birmingham would claim overtime all day Sunday (8hours) for an 8 desk computer move that they would occasionally complete on Friday in work time. When their card readings were checked (this is how the fraudulent claims were discovered/proven) they screamed foul play and breach of privacy. My employer backed down. When redundancy was upon us, these piss taking, work shy scam artists were apparently asking for £150,000 severance pay and an undisclosed agreement was reached.

A man of principle wouldn't let this happen, pity that there were scarcely present in the hierarchy of my old employment.

Not sure what relevance that has to a legal document such as a compromise agreement?

[StottyEvo]

daemon said:

StottyEvo said:

daemon said:

StottyEvo said:

rxe said:

Gagging is merely incidental. We use Compromise Agreements all the time. The basic situation is that someone is not performing, but to get rid of someone for poor performance is very hard, you need loads of evidence and it takes forever. The employee does not want to be there, you don't want them there. So you say 'here is a big chunk of change, if we give it to you, will you clear off and keep the details confidential?' If you get the number right, most people just sign.

I find it deeply depressing that this happens.

Its "depressing" but it happens. If an employer / employee relationship is broken to the point of being unrepairable, then a compromise agreement lets both parties walk away.

I recall my previous PAYE employment, my equivalents in Birmingham would claim overtime all day Sunday (8hours) for an 8 desk computer move that they would occasionally complete on Friday in work time. When their card readings were checked (this is how the fraudulent claims were discovered/proven) they screamed foul play and breach of privacy. My employer backed down. When redundancy was upon us, these piss taking, work shy scam artists were apparently asking for £150,000 severance pay and an undisclosed agreement was reached.

A man of principle wouldn't let this happen, pity that there were scarcely present in the hierarchy of my old employment.

Not sure what relevance that has to a legal document such as a compromise agreement?

Just a personal anecdote, representative of the attitudes between employers and staff in professional working environments.

I'd assume that the employees reached/signed a compromise agreement whatever one of those is, to call and end to the matter of redundancy.

[daemon]

StottyEvo said:

Just a personal anecdote, representative of the attitudes between employers and staff in professional working environments.

I'd assume that the employees reached/signed a compromise agreement whatever one of those is, to call and end to the matter of redundancy.

An employee can ask for whatever they like for redundancy, however they will get what they are contractually entitled to.

It would be a ridiculous scenario whereby management would pay out more just to get people to go. If you're going, you're going.

Sounds like someone was yanking your chain.

And thats not a compromise agreement, either way.

Edited by daemon on Saturday 23 April 13:44

[StottyEvo]

daemon said:

StottyEvo said:

Just a personal anecdote, representative of the attitudes between employers and staff in professional working environments.

I'd assume that the employees reached/signed a compromise agreement whatever one of those is, to call and end to the matter of redundancy.

An employee can ask for whatever they like for redundancy, however they will get what they are contractually entitled to.

It would be a ridiculous scenario whereby management would pay out more just to get people to go. If you're going, you're going.

Sounds like someone was yanking your chain.

And thats not a compromise agreement, either way.

Edited by daemon on Saturday 23 April 13:44

It was a ridiculous situation and wasn't the first that this group of employees had constructed and profited from.

I was told by my head of department who was dealing with the matter. He was a decent sensical bloke, unfortunately with his hands tied by HR.

But as you say, its not a compromise agreement so my anecdote is irrelevant.

[Vroom101]

daemon said:

An employee can ask for whatever they like for redundancy, however they will get what they are contractually entitled to.

It would be a ridiculous scenario whereby management would pay out more just to get people to go. If you're going, you're going.

Not wanting to lead the thread off topic, that 'ridiculous senario' happens quite a lot. The company I work for occasionally offers redundancy packages that are far over and above their contractual obligations. The reason for these enhanced terms is to entice more employees to sign up for voluntary redundancy, so that the company and the unions can both save face and claim that nobody was 'made' redundant. The company has shed literally tens of thousands of jobs this way.

Just before Christmas, my workmate chose voluntary redundancy and left with close to a £90k payout plus £30k per year pension. He was going to retire this year anyway, so it was an extra bonus for him!

Bringing it back on topic, none of these redundancies required the employees to sign any sort of gagging order.

[daemon]

StottyEvo said:

daemon said:

StottyEvo said:

Just a personal anecdote, representative of the attitudes between employers and staff in professional working environments.

I'd assume that the employees reached/signed a compromise agreement whatever one of those is, to call and end to the matter of redundancy.

An employee can ask for whatever they like for redundancy, however they will get what they are contractually entitled to.

It would be a ridiculous scenario whereby management would pay out more just to get people to go. If you're going, you're going.

Sounds like someone was yanking your chain.

And thats not a compromise agreement, either way.

Edited by daemon on Saturday 23 April 13:44

It was a ridiculous situation and wasn't the first that this group of employees had constructed and profited from.

I was told by my head of department who was dealing with the matter. He was a decent sensical bloke, unfortunately with his hands tied by HR.

But as you say, its not a compromise agreement so my anecdote is irrelevant.

Then i stand corrected - as per what Vroom has said too, its probably been an "enhanced" package to get them to take redundancy.

Apologies - i hadnt thought of that route.

[daemon]

Vroom101 said:

Not wanting to lead the thread off topic, that 'ridiculous senario' happens quite a lot. The company I work for occasionally offers redundancy packages that are far over and above their contractual obligations. The reason for these enhanced terms is to entice more employees to sign up for voluntary redundancy, so that the company and the unions can both save face and claim that nobody was 'made' redundant. The company has shed literally tens of thousands of jobs this way.

Just before Christmas, my workmate chose voluntary redundancy and left with close to a £90k payout plus £30k per year pension. He was going to retire this year anyway, so it was an extra bonus for him!

Bringing it back on topic, none of these redundancies required the employees to sign any sort of gagging order.

Ah, with you now. Hadnt thought of that scenario whereby it was to encourage people to take voluntary.

[Vroom101]

No worries. I think it all depends on the type of industry you work in.

Enhanced voluntary redundancies are fairly common in my line of work, whereas I've not come across anyone who's left with a gagging order. Maybe it happens further up the hierarchy chain, but certainly not with the riff-raff like me

[Riley Blue]

I've known people who have had an illness that has rendered them partialy disabled. Rather than make adaptations for them, they have been 'engineered out' by their employer with a financial hand-out and gagging agreement thus neatly circumventing the Equalities Act.

[wildcat45]

What's the consequence of breaking such an order?

For example, an employee agrees, takes the money and leaves.

Assuming they are sitting on something very damaging to the firm, and ex-employee goes public I guess they can be sued by the ex-employer.

But that is going to involve a court where the embarrassing or damaging stuff would once again be aired in public with the adfition that the media could most probably report claims and details without fear of legal comeback. Assuming no reporting restrictions are imposed and remain unchallenged.