I want to leave my job with a settlement agreement.

I want to leave my job with a settlement agreement.

If you wish to leave your employer and have no settlement agreement on offer, there are various steps you can take to try and force an exit with a pay-off.

The most important factor for us is to know if anything may have happened to create the situation you are in. If it has come about owing to your employer’s actions (or inaction) or those of a colleague, you may have a claim for constructive dismissal, which could be used to force a negotiated exit.

There are many examples of what may amount to such conduct on your employer’s behalf. It could be an attempt to unilaterally change your terms and conditions of employment, there may be instances of discrimination or you might have been subjected to bullying.

If you are in this situation, raising a grievance may help. It might help you to resolve your issues and/or it can create a platform for you to negotiate an exit.

You may be able to have an “off the record” discussion with your employer that enables you to make an offer. Please click here to read a detailed summary of how to do so.

The timing and content of your offer needs to be carefully considered to ensure you have the best possible opportunity to secure your desired outcome.

However, if there are serious issues at work with which you cannot cope, then you could resign and pursue a constructive dismissal claim. Before you resign, you must take specific legal advice to ensure you understand your position and options. With constructive dismissal, timing is key as you typically only have two weeks in which to resign and you must resign because of a specific breach; failing which, you will be deemed to have acquiesced its breach and will miss the opportunity to resign.

If there has been discrimination, it’s likely that such conduct will continue; especially if where there has been a failure to make reasonable adjustments for any disability.

It’s important to note that you can probably trigger a protected conversation with your employer at any time. The fact that you wish to leave is probably sufficient for it to take your request seriously. However, without any major concerns or issues having been raised (for example a grievance) then there may be little incentive for your employer to agree and pay you to leave.  

In our experience, where your relationship with your employer is good, there is rarely any reason for you to want a pay-off. If you are simply unhappy, the safest route is typically to look for another job and resign when you find something suitable.

If you are faced with redundancy, there may be an option for voluntary redundancy (either from you or your employer). There is, however, no obligation on your employer to accept a request for voluntary redundancy.

Your ability to persuade your employer to make you an offer to leave will be dictated by your situation and circumstances. When you take employment law advice from us, we will want to understand the background information and your desired outcome, so we can advise you on whether your outcome is likely to be achievable. 

Equally, we appreciate that you may not know what outcome you want to achieve until you have had the benefit of employment law advice from us. This is why we will quickly understand the strength of your position, so we can advise you on the available options and the costs and risks of each option. 

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