There is a need to hire a reliable and competent employment solicitor when you are considering signing a compromise agreement from your employer. In fact, the UK employment laws require any employee to hire one before getting into any compromise agreement with the employer. No compromise agreement between the employee and the employer would be legally binding and valid without the signature of a solicitor, which is considered the necessary third and independent party. The law wants to make sure the employee is properly and adequately guided and advised before agreeing to any compromise with the employer.
If you are aiming to hire an employment solicitor, you should understand that there are basic requirements and documents that you should readily turn over to the law specialist. Before the solicitor asks for the requirements, prepare the necessary documents to avoid any hassle. First, you have to furnish the employment solicitor a copy of the compromise agreement draft that your employer gave you. This is very necessary as the solicitor needs to look at the proposal to carefully study and consider all the aspects and provisions. It is the professional’s job to make sure you are getting a favorable deal.
Second, prepare a copy of your employment contract as well as the letter of appointment. The solicitor needs to look at any existing provision that may have been stated or stipulated in the employment contract. This is necessary especially if there is any restrictive covenant between the employer and the employee prior to or during the employment. Such employment provisions could still hold effective even after a compromise agreement is signed, unless there are statements in the agreement that says otherwise.
Third, you also have to surrender all documentation pertaining to your own fringe benefits. Such benefits may be clearly set out in the employment handbook. There may also be scheme documentations that relate to bonuses, share options, commissions, permanent health insurance, death-in-service benefits, pensions, and health insurance. You have to entrust such information to your employment solicitor.
Fourth, you have to surrender all correspondence whether in the form of letters or emails wherein the employer’s main reasons for presenting the compromise agreement are stated. The solicitor needs to closely look at such reasons to weigh justifications on whether the compromise agreement is favorable and appropriate or not. Fifth, furnish the solicitor a copy of your pay slip.
Then, the solicitor would certainly need a verified photocopy of your proofs of identity. Such documents could be in the form of a driver’s license, an employment identification card, or a passport. Lastly, hand the solicitor any proof of the accuracy or validity of your own residential address (which may include a credit card/ bank statement or a utility bill).
The employment solicitor would advise you about any other requirements that you may not have yet surrendered. After such necessities are provided, you and the solicitor could then proceed to looking at the compromise agreement. You could now be guided properly when deciding about whether to accept or not specific provisions in the offer.