Last reviewed: August 2026
Written by John Hassells, Employment Solicitor, SRA No. 168501
We advise London employees on settlement agreements, usually on the same day. Your employer pays our fee, so in most cases the advice costs you nothing. Everything is handled by phone, email and video, so there is no appointment to travel to.
Speak to a solicitor today: 0800 861 1883 | Start my settlement
Why employees come to us
Your fee is fixed to what your employer pays. Our cost promise is that we fix our fee to the contribution your employer has agreed to make. No top-ups and no extras. That covers advice on the terms of the agreement, advice on its effect, and signing the adviser’s certificate.
No office visit. We advise by phone and video, which for time-sensitive work is faster than finding a slot to travel into the City for.
Same-day advice in urgent cases. If your deadline is close, tell us when you call.
Helping employees since 2013
SettlementAgreement.co.uk was launched in 2013 to give employees clear guidance and access to specialist legal advice when a settlement agreement landed on their desk. Thirteen years on, we are one of the longest-established websites in the UK dedicated to settlement agreements, and we have helped thousands of employees.
Your solicitor
John Hassells is a specialist employment solicitor with over 20 years’ experience. John is personally regulated by the Solicitors Regulation Authority (SRA No. 168501) and is a member of the Employment Lawyers Association. He can advise employees across London and the Southeast, at every level and across every sector, from financial services and technology to the NHS and local government.
What is a settlement agreement?
A settlement agreement is a legally binding contract between you and your employer. It brings your employment to an end on agreed terms, or resolves a dispute, usually in exchange for a payment. In return, you agree not to bring specified legal claims. They were previously called compromise agreements, and you may still see that term in older correspondence.
For the agreement to be binding, section 203(3) of the Employment Rights Act 1996 requires that it is in writing, that it relates to the particular proceedings, that you have received advice from a relevant independent adviser on its terms and effect, that the adviser is insured, that the adviser is identified in the agreement, and that the agreement states the statutory conditions are satisfied. Equivalent conditions apply to discrimination claims under section 147 of the Equality Act 2010. Once signed, a settlement agreement is final, which is why getting the right advice is so important. See our note on the cooling-off period.
Book your free consultation
Our solicitors are ready to review your settlement agreement. In most cases your legal fees are met by your employer, so the advice costs you nothing. Same-day appointments are available by phone, email and video.
0800 861 1883 | Start my settlement | Request a free callback
For a fuller explanation of how settlement agreements work, see our settlement agreement guide.
How long do I have to decide?
There is no statutory deadline, but the Acas Code of Practice on Settlement Agreements states at paragraph 12 that “as a general rule, a minimum period of 10 calendar days should be allowed to consider the proposed formal written terms of a settlement agreement and to receive independent advice, unless the parties agree otherwise.”
Many London employers follow this. If yours is pressing you to sign in less time, let us know.
What will my agreement contain?
Most follow a similar shape, which can include:
- The termination payment: how much, when, and how it is broken down
- Notice: whether you work it, or are paid in lieu
- A waiver of claims: the list of claims you are giving up
- Confidentiality and NDAs: protection of your employer’s confidential information, what you can and cannot say about the agreement and the circumstances.
- Non-disparagement – obligations not to bring your employer or its people into disrepute or be derogatory about them.
- A reference: sometimes this is agreed in the settlement agreement. See our page on references
- Restrictive covenants: either restated from your contract, or varied
- Tax indemnity: your undertaking to meet any further tax liability
- Benefits: what happens to pension, healthcare, share awards, restricted stock units, share options, and bonus.
Which claims can and cannot be settled?
A settlement agreement can settle most workplace claims, including unfair dismissal, claims about wages and pay, and discrimination. But it cannot lawfully waive every type of employment claim. There are certain statutory rights, such as accrued pension rights, latent personal injury claims, some family-related pay, and data subject access rights, which are likely to fall outside the scope of a settlement agreement. We cover these on our page on claims a settlement agreement cannot settle.
What if we have already had a “protected conversation”?
If your employer raised the subject “off the record” or “without prejudice”, section 111A of the Employment Rights Act 1996 may make that conversation inadmissible. In certain circumstances protection may be lost or not apply, and your solicitor will be able to advise you on this if needed.
Our fuller guide is at section 111A of the Employment Rights Act 1996.
How is the payment taxed?
The first £30,000 of the settlement termination payment is typically tax-free. That threshold was set back in 1988, and appear in section 403 of the Income Tax (Earnings and Pensions) Act 2003. The tax-free allowance only applies to the severance payment itself, i.e. the payment for loss of employment. It doesn’t apply to salary, holiday pay, bonuses, and payments in lieu, which are taxable in the normal way. For further information, see our detailed guide about is the payment tax free?
How much should my settlement agreement be?
The amount of money usually reflects your length of service, your notice entitlement, your redundancy entitlement if that applies, the strength of any claim you might bring, and how much your employer wants certainty. Our settlement agreement calculator will give you a starting point.
Book your free consultation
Our solicitors are ready to review your settlement agreement. In most cases your legal fees are met by your employer, so the advice costs you nothing. Same-day appointments are available by phone, email and video.
0800 861 1883 | Start my settlement | Request a free callback
What am I giving up?
When you sign a settlement agreement, you give up your right to bring certain claims, and you make agreements in return for the payment you receive. In a market as concentrated as London’s, a non-compete or non-solicitation clause can matter a great deal your likely next employer may be a competitor a short walk away. It’s crucial to get advice from a qualified, experienced employment solicitor. There is no cooling-off period. Once you sign a settlement agreement, it’s final.
Who we help in London
We can advise employees at every level across London, including those working in:
- Financial services — banking, insurance, asset management and fintech, across the City, Canary Wharf and the West End
- Professional services — law, accountancy, consultancy and recruitment
- Technology — from established platforms to earlier-stage companies around Shoreditch, King’s Cross and Old Street
- Media and creative — broadcasting, publishing, advertising and production
- Healthcare — NHS trusts across the capital, and private providers
- Public sector — London boroughs, the GLA and central government departments
- Higher education — London universities and colleges
- Retail, hospitality and logistics — head office and regional management roles
Issues that come up more often in London
There can be particular issues, which come up more often in London, such as:
- Bonus and deferred compensation. Whether unvested awards, deferred cash and share awards are preserved or forfeited is frequently the largest single item in the negotiation, and is often dealt with in a schedule rather than the main agreement.
- Regulated roles. If you hold a Senior Manager or Certification Function, the wording of your agreed reference is constrained by your employer’s regulatory obligations. An agreement that promises more than a regulated reference permits will not help you.
- Garden leave and notice. Long notice periods are common in senior London roles, and how notice is treated can change the tax position materially.
- Restrictive covenants. In a dense employment market, covenants are more likely to be enforced and more likely to matter.
- Partnership and LLP membership. Exits from professional partnerships follow a different route and different documents.
London employment law resources
Verified in August 2026 against the HMCTS Find a Court or Tribunal service.
London Tribunals Centre (central London employment tribunal)
7 Newgate Street, London EC1A 7AZ
Telephone 0300 323 0196 · londoncentralet@justice.gov.uk
Open 9am to 5pm. No counter service.
London (South) Employment Tribunal
Montague Court, 101 London Road, Croydon CR0 2RF
Telephone 0300 323 0196 · londonsouthet@justice.gov.uk
DX 155061 Croydon 39
East London Tribunal Hearing Centre
2nd Floor, Import Building, 2 Clove Crescent, London E14 2BE
Telephone 0300 323 0196 · eastlondon@justice.gov.uk
This building is temporarily closed. No reopening date has been published.
Watford Tribunal Hearing Centre (serving outer north-west London and Hertfordshire)
Radius House, 51 Clarendon Road, Watford WD17 1HP
Telephone 0300 323 0196 · watfordet@justice.gov.uk
Court open 9am to 4pm.
Employment Appeal Tribunal (appeals only)
Rolls Building, 7 Rolls Buildings, Fetter Lane, London EC4A 1NL
Telephone 020 7273 1041 · LondonEAT@Justice.gov.uk
Monday to Friday, 9am to 4pm.
General enquiries: Employment Tribunals, PO Box 11225, Crown House, Loughborough LE11 9PX. Telephone 0300 323 0196.
Areas we cover
We can advise employees across all London boroughs, including the City of London, Westminster, Camden, Islington, Hackney, Tower Hamlets, Southwark, Lambeth, Wandsworth, Hammersmith and Fulham, Kensington and Chelsea, Brent, Ealing, Haringey, Newham, Greenwich, Lewisham, Croydon, Bromley, Barnet, Enfield, Redbridge, Waltham Forest, Harrow, Hounslow, Richmond, Kingston, Merton, Sutton, Havering, Barking and Dagenham, Bexley and Hillingdon — together with the surrounding commuter belt across Hertfordshire, Essex, Kent, Surrey and Berkshire.
Wherever you are based, advice is by phone or video, so there is no need to travel.
Book your free consultation
Our solicitors are ready to review your settlement agreement. In most cases your legal fees are met by your employer, so the advice costs you nothing. Same-day appointments are available by phone, email and video.
0800 861 1883 | Start my settlement | Request a free callback
For a fuller explanation of how settlement agreements work, see our settlement agreement guide.
Frequently asked questions about settlement agreements in London
Claims are usually presented online, or by post to the Employment Tribunal Central Office, and are then allocated to a hearing centre. London has more than one. The London Tribunals Centre at 7 Newgate Street, EC1A 7AZ lists claims against employers, and the older Central London Employment Tribunal entry on the GOV.UK court and tribunal finder is now marked as no longer in service. London (South) Employment Tribunal sits at Montague Court, 101 London Road, West Croydon, CR0 2RF. The East London Tribunal Hearing Centre at the Import Building, 2 Clove Crescent, E14 2BE, is currently listed as temporarily closed. Allocation normally follows the postcode of where you worked rather than where you live, which matters if you commute
In practice, your employer usually does. There is no legal requirement for an employer to fund your advice: the statutory conditions require advice from a relevant independent adviser, not that the employer pays for it. But because the waiver of your claims fails without that advice, a contribution towards your legal fees is typical in settlement agreements, and the figure is usually written into the agreement itself. That contribution commonly covers advice on the terms and effect of the agreement in full, and our cost promise explains how we won’t charge you more than your employer contributes. Negotiating improved terms is separate work, and it is normal to ask for the contribution to be increased to cover it.
The first £30,000 of a compensation payment for loss of employment can usually be paid free of income tax and National Insurance. Anything that is actually notice pay is taxable, as is holiday pay, bonuses and payments for agreeing restrictive covenants are taxable. Our page on whether the payment is tax free works through the categories.
The Acas Code of Practice on Settlement Agreements recommends a minimum of ten calendar days to consider the proposed formal written terms (paragraph 12). Ten days is a recommendation rather than a statutory deadline. The Acas Code is published in full online. We offer same-day appointments, with an experienced employment solicitor, who can swiftly, and expertly handle your London-based settlement agreement.
The same statutory conditions apply everywhere in England and Wales. Section 203(3) of the Employment Rights Act 1996 sets out six lettered conditions, including that the agreement is in writing, relates to the particular proceedings, and that you received advice from a relevant independent adviser who is covered by insurance. Some claims cannot be settled at all, as our page on claims a settlement agreement cannot settle explains.
Legal disclaimer
The contents of this page are intended to be for general information purposes only and do not amount to (nor are they intended to be) legal, tax or financial advice, nor a complete or authoritative statement of the law. No warranty is given as to the accuracy of the information, and no liability is accepted for any error or omission. You should instruct a specialist employment solicitor to advise you on your particular situation. You are free to instruct any solicitor you wish.
