Compensation Offer following grievance at work
Discussion
Evening all,
Further to my previous message about my wife raising a multi-part grievance against her previous employer in February - workplace stress caused by excessive workload and lack of management support + sexual discrimination + breach of contract relating to bonus / pension / medical insurance - she has today received an email from the HR bod with a compensation offer.
Whilst the figure in question is low ball - to be expected off the bat - the e-mail is pretty much -
"following recent grievance raised, would you accept a compensatory sum of £X as full and final settlement of this matter. Let us know by Friday and we'll get a written settlement for you to sign and you need legal advice within 10 days".
We have not been provided with a copy of the findings of the investigation, nor a breakdown of the compensation figure to see how it is split between the grievances, nor even if the figure is subject to tax and NI.
We have asked for the above and are waiting on them returning. Question is, are employers obliged to provide copies of the findings to the person who has raised the grievance and are we entitled to receive a breakdown prior to the settlement agreement?
Any help on this would be greatly appreciated.
Further to my previous message about my wife raising a multi-part grievance against her previous employer in February - workplace stress caused by excessive workload and lack of management support + sexual discrimination + breach of contract relating to bonus / pension / medical insurance - she has today received an email from the HR bod with a compensation offer.
Whilst the figure in question is low ball - to be expected off the bat - the e-mail is pretty much -
"following recent grievance raised, would you accept a compensatory sum of £X as full and final settlement of this matter. Let us know by Friday and we'll get a written settlement for you to sign and you need legal advice within 10 days".
We have not been provided with a copy of the findings of the investigation, nor a breakdown of the compensation figure to see how it is split between the grievances, nor even if the figure is subject to tax and NI.
We have asked for the above and are waiting on them returning. Question is, are employers obliged to provide copies of the findings to the person who has raised the grievance and are we entitled to receive a breakdown prior to the settlement agreement?
Any help on this would be greatly appreciated.
This can be more involved than you think. I would see the employment lawyer ASAP. Usually the employer will cover the costs of this too. You may also be covered on your house insurance for legal matters, if so contact them and get a lawyer assigned so it does not cost you money.
Let the lawyer review the situation in detail and they will advise.
If the employer has not handled everything to perfection, they could be liable for much more if it went to a tribunal see here https://www.landaulaw.co.uk/faqs/what-compensation...
Often just a letter back stating a few more key facts and the threat of a tribunal is enough to substantially increase the settlement offer.
Let the lawyer review the situation in detail and they will advise.
If the employer has not handled everything to perfection, they could be liable for much more if it went to a tribunal see here https://www.landaulaw.co.uk/faqs/what-compensation...
Often just a letter back stating a few more key facts and the threat of a tribunal is enough to substantially increase the settlement offer.
bogie said:
This can be more involved than you think. I would see the employment lawyer ASAP. Usually the employer will cover the costs of this too. You may also be covered on your house insurance for legal matters, if so contact them and get a lawyer assigned so it does not cost you money.
Let the lawyer review the situation in detail and they will advise.
If the employer has not handled everything to perfection, they could be liable for much more if it went to a tribunal see here https://www.landaulaw.co.uk/faqs/what-compensation...
Often just a letter back stating a few more key facts and the threat of a tribunal is enough to substantially increase the settlement offer.
Thanks for your reply - appreciate it.Let the lawyer review the situation in detail and they will advise.
If the employer has not handled everything to perfection, they could be liable for much more if it went to a tribunal see here https://www.landaulaw.co.uk/faqs/what-compensation...
Often just a letter back stating a few more key facts and the threat of a tribunal is enough to substantially increase the settlement offer.
To be honest, her employer was and continues to be poor in their management of this situation for the last two and a half years, so it's safe to say they have not handled everything to perfection.
Once they get back to us i suspect the next conversation will involve us stating the figure doesn't accurately reflect our current thinking...
The reason there is an offer on the table is that the employer wants to bring this to a close. That means the grievance process won't be completed. You won't see any minutes etc. Or you can keep pushing to finish the process but find there is no offer on the table. The employer may have erred but there may have been an opportunity and it may have been missed or misunderstood, of a 'protected conversation's. The breakdown of the figure is irrelevant and most likely it will never be documented in a way you think internally and externally.
edc said:
The reason there is an offer on the table is that the employer wants to bring this to a close. That means the grievance process won't be completed. You won't see any minutes etc. Or you can keep pushing to finish the process but find there is no offer on the table. The employer may have erred but there may have been an opportunity and it may have been missed or misunderstood, of a 'protected conversation's. The breakdown of the figure is irrelevant and most likely it will never be documented in a way you think internally and externally.
Thank you for replying. I'l be honest, if past performance is any indicator of the current situation then you are totally right - there will be no formal conclusion and no breakdown.We've received minutes from meetings to agree so at least they've done that!
Not sure what you mean though by "protected conversations"?
lenny007 said:
Whilst the figure in question is low ball - to be expected off the bat - the e-mail is pretty much -
"following recent grievance raised, would you accept a compensatory sum of £X as full and final settlement of this matter. Let us know by Friday and we'll get a written settlement for you to sign and you need legal advice within 10 days".
We have not been provided with a copy of the findings of the investigation, nor a breakdown of the compensation figure to see how it is split between the grievances, nor even if the figure is subject to tax and NI.
We have asked for the above and are waiting on them returning. Question is, are employers obliged to provide copies of the findings to the person who has raised the grievance and are we entitled to receive a breakdown prior to the settlement agreement?
Apart from the X, is the text in quotes actually copied from the email? I'm not a lawyer, but I doubt it's written by one and it may well have opened them up to some trouble. It's confusing and the grammar isn't great."following recent grievance raised, would you accept a compensatory sum of £X as full and final settlement of this matter. Let us know by Friday and we'll get a written settlement for you to sign and you need legal advice within 10 days".
We have not been provided with a copy of the findings of the investigation, nor a breakdown of the compensation figure to see how it is split between the grievances, nor even if the figure is subject to tax and NI.
We have asked for the above and are waiting on them returning. Question is, are employers obliged to provide copies of the findings to the person who has raised the grievance and are we entitled to receive a breakdown prior to the settlement agreement?
I wouldn't have any more comms with them until, as mentioned by others, you've had legal advice, worked out your objective and decided how far you are prepared to take this.
carinatauk said:
Be careful that you / wife don't get into a position whereby you sign away your rights to use the grievance details in a tribunal; I would be led by a proper employment solicitor on this.
My wife is contacting ACAS this morning for some more advice on whats happened so far and we won't be signing anything before seeking legal advice. lenny007 said:
My wife is contacting ACAS this morning for some more advice on whats happened so far and we won't be signing anything before seeking legal advice.
In my experience ACAS are pretty useless.You'd be far better advised as some have already said to go to a lawyer and let them take this up on your behalf.
The employer as part of the settlement will likely meet your legal costs too so its pretty much free.
They will also know what you are likely to be entitled to and will obviously go for a bigger amount in order for the employer to prevent it going to Tribunal.
Good luck
NDA said:
What would you (your wife) like the result to be of this process?
It's a good question but truthfully? A few things;1. An admission by the company that they acknowledge how poorly my wife was treated. Whilst this will be covered in legalese in order to protect them from further claims, even a tacit acknowledgement would make my wife feel better. It's the element of closure that she wants.
2. Anything which she was contractually "entitled" to but which the company did not honour due to its acts of omission. If they told her they would pay her for something or provide a benefit and they didn't, then the least they can do is retrospectively do what they said they would.
3. Regarding the other items, i guess some form of compensation for her mistreatment. Having my wife crying and upset pretty much every Sunday evening at the thought of going back to work on a Monday and getting to the point of needing medical assistance was horrific. The people that put her in that position should really have to address that and as they can't because she's left, then compensation - of a proportionate amount - seems a reasonable request.
LeoSayer said:
Apart from the X, is the text in quotes actually copied from the email? I'm not a lawyer, but I doubt it's written by one and it may well have opened them up to some trouble. It's confusing and the grammar isn't great.
I wouldn't have any more comms with them until, as mentioned by others, you've had legal advice, worked out your objective and decided how far you are prepared to take this.
I was paraphrasing to an extent but that was the bulk of the e-mail. It sums the company up really - she also received her final pay packet and P45 yesterday (no covering letter or anything) and they've not paid her her accrued holiday entitlement either.I wouldn't have any more comms with them until, as mentioned by others, you've had legal advice, worked out your objective and decided how far you are prepared to take this.
I suspect - and i may be wrong on this - that the HR department / person who carried out the process has not done this before. It took them 12 days from handing in the grievance letter to meeting with my wife, another 8 days to receive the minutes from the meeting (no notes were taken in said meeting) and then the "offer" yesterday. Start to finish the process took 32 days.
I think they may have opened themselves up somewhat to complaints about the process...
FocusRS3 said:
In my experience ACAS are pretty useless.
You'd be far better advised as some have already said to go to a lawyer and let them take this up on your behalf.
The employer as part of the settlement will likely meet your legal costs too so its pretty much free.
They will also know what you are likely to be entitled to and will obviously go for a bigger amount in order for the employer to prevent it going to Tribunal.
Good luck
With respect to the legal contribution from the employer, i assume this would be part of the settlement agreement? i.e we need legal advice for the agreement to be valid. The last thing i want to do is to commit to a figure they've suggested - its roughly 4 weeks pay that has been offered, the minimum she would have received is she had been made redundant - and then not be able to amend that when seeking the legal advice.You'd be far better advised as some have already said to go to a lawyer and let them take this up on your behalf.
The employer as part of the settlement will likely meet your legal costs too so its pretty much free.
They will also know what you are likely to be entitled to and will obviously go for a bigger amount in order for the employer to prevent it going to Tribunal.
Good luck
Thanks for your good luck wishes - appreciate it.
No-one on here can offer you any real legal advice, nor can you share all the details on a public forum.
Look online and find a local employment solicitor. The first session is usually free or very cheap. Get there ASAP; your wife may have ground for constructive dismissal. Dont sign anything or have any further communication with the ex employer. Leave it to the solicitor.
Sounds like HR dont really know what they are doing and they need a solicitor to spell it out to them, so your wife can get a fair settlement agreement.
Look online and find a local employment solicitor. The first session is usually free or very cheap. Get there ASAP; your wife may have ground for constructive dismissal. Dont sign anything or have any further communication with the ex employer. Leave it to the solicitor.
Sounds like HR dont really know what they are doing and they need a solicitor to spell it out to them, so your wife can get a fair settlement agreement.
lenny007 said:
With respect to the legal contribution from the employer, i assume this would be part of the settlement agreement? i.e we need legal advice for the agreement to be valid. The last thing i want to do is to commit to a figure they've suggested - its roughly 4 weeks pay that has been offered, the minimum she would have received is she had been made redundant - and then not be able to amend that when seeking the legal advice.
Thanks for your good luck wishes - appreciate it.
I sued for CD and won out of court but they kicked the can around for many months.Thanks for your good luck wishes - appreciate it.
I was always assumed by my legal team that my ex employer would be footing my legal expenses too and they never questioned it when it landed with them.
My legal bill was well into 5 figures but it need not have been so they stuffed themselves.
4 weeks doesnt sound much so its worth getting an employment lawyer involved.
Also with a lawyer on their case they will be far more accommodating to get the whole thing out of their hair
If you have now a P45 and have already been dismissed then you will need to lodge and appeal and a subsequent Tribunal claim. You don't need a solicitor to do this necessarily. Settlement agreement would have happened whilst you were still in employment so they will not be paying for you to see a solicitor either. Calculate your claims as accurately as you can.
It is rare for a tribunal to award costs so don't assume you will not have to pay any legal fees during any proceedings.
It is rare for a tribunal to award costs so don't assume you will not have to pay any legal fees during any proceedings.
You really want to speak to someone to go through the detail of the potential claim and possible award (for example a review of the contract to ascertain benefits, notice period etc) and tax implications i.e. is there an award for loss of office? PILON?
Sorry I do not recall if I saw any previous message, however has your wife resigned?
One other thing you don't want to do is take too long as time limits for an ET are rather short.
Sorry I do not recall if I saw any previous message, however has your wife resigned?
One other thing you don't want to do is take too long as time limits for an ET are rather short.
It is rare for a tribunal to award costs so don't assume you will not have to pay any legal fees during any proceedings.
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This is true. If you actually go to trial ( and only something like 1% do im told) then only in very exceptional circumstances will a judge award costs too.
You basically have to demonstrate they had been so awkward you had no choice but to burn money on fees and get them to trial.
Anyhow- go see that lawyer
Afternoon all and many thanks for taking the time to reply. In answer to the queries above -
1. Just been to a local employment law solicitors so my wife is making an appointment to see them asap.
2. 4 weeks seems to be the basic she would get if made redundant based on time in employment - doesn't really address the grievances.
3. She resigned, was not dismissed. Not sure if this makes a difference but important to be correct so i don't ask for the wrong advice!
4. The employer stated it was a settlement agreement they were looking at moving forward. Does it matter if she is still employed by them for this?
5. There was no PILON - she worked right up to her last day, other than taking two days off, which they have recouped as unallocated time off within her last pay slip.
6.They have been in this process something like 3 times in the last 15 months, not including my wife's situation. None of those went to court. That's of course not to say it won't here though.
1. Just been to a local employment law solicitors so my wife is making an appointment to see them asap.
2. 4 weeks seems to be the basic she would get if made redundant based on time in employment - doesn't really address the grievances.
3. She resigned, was not dismissed. Not sure if this makes a difference but important to be correct so i don't ask for the wrong advice!
4. The employer stated it was a settlement agreement they were looking at moving forward. Does it matter if she is still employed by them for this?
5. There was no PILON - she worked right up to her last day, other than taking two days off, which they have recouped as unallocated time off within her last pay slip.
6.They have been in this process something like 3 times in the last 15 months, not including my wife's situation. None of those went to court. That's of course not to say it won't here though.
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