Case Study | Severance negotiations

From time to time an employer decides that for one or more business related reasons an existing employee has to leave, even if the individual has done nothing to justify his or her dismissal. Such 'agreed departures' or 'engineered dismissals' are common place but for the employer the clever bit is pitching the 'offer of settlement' at the right value, in the right way and at the right time. This is very important. If the employee is not happy they may at best not co-operate and at worst commence tribunal or court proceedings. Either way what could have been an amicable or at least an agreed termination deteriorates into a time consuming and costly dispute. We know how to minimise these dangers.

We help employers work out how best to 'engineer' an agreed or forced departure of an existing employee. A large part of this work involves advising and negotiating on the value of the compensation or severance payment. We can draft all appropriate documentation, including the compromise agreement or severance agreement. We will advise on how to manage the dismissal, including any company law aspects and shareholder issues.

Note: All case studies are based on cases we have recently handled, but you will not be surprised to know that we have changed all names and some other key details to ensure client confidentiality is preserved.