Have you been offered a settlement agreement by a Swansea employer?
Call 0800 861 1883 to speak to a specialist settlement agreement solicitor. Appointments are by telephone or video call, and same-day advice is usually available. Your employer pays the fee.
Start my settlement
A settlement agreement is a legally binding contract that sets out how your employment will end or how a workplace dispute will be resolved. To make the agreement legally binding, you must receive advice from a qualified legal adviser. We will explain its terms and effects, arrange for it to be signed off, and help you move forward. Same-day appointments are available, and because we cap our fee at your employer’s contribution, you pay nothing. Read our Cost Promise to learn more.
Swansea’s employment picture
The public sector is the defining feature of Swansea’s employment picture. Of the 108,000 employees working in Swansea, 30.4%, around 32,800 people, work in the public sector, against 25.6% across Wales as a whole (ONS Business Register and Employment Survey, 2023, published by Swansea Council). Swansea Bay University Health Board alone employs around 14,700 people across Morriston, Singleton and Neath Port Talbot hospitals. There’s also Swansea Council, Swansea University, the University of Wales Trinity Saint David, and the DVLA, which employs more than 6,000 people across its Swansea and Birmingham sites.
There are also substantial financial services, including Admiral Group House, and steel and heavy industry at Port Talbot, alongside energy, distribution and manufacturing sites across the bay, as well as HR and technology roles across the area.
Wherever you work in Swansea, we can help whether you’re being offered an enhanced redundancy or a mutually agreed resignation scheme with fixed terms.
How long do you have to decide?
Paragraph 12 of the Acas Code of Practice on Settlement Agreements says that, as a general rule, a minimum of 10 calendar days should be allowed to consider the proposed formal written terms and take independent advice, unless the parties agree otherwise. That is guidance rather than a statutory deadline but generally speaking your employer should give you a reasonable time to decide.
Frequently asked questions
Where would a tribunal claim from Swansea be heard? Swansea Civil Justice Centre at Caravella House, Quay West, Quay Parade, Swansea SA1 1SP lists “claims against employers” and is used by the Wales Employment Tribunal as a hearing venue. What is not in Swansea is the office that administers the case: that is the Wales Employment Tribunal at 3rd Floor, Cardiff and the Vale Magistrates’ Court, Fitzalan Place, Cardiff CF24 0RZ.
Can I have my hearing in Welsh? Yes. Section 22(1) of the Welsh Language Act 1993 provides that in any legal proceedings in Wales the Welsh language may be spoken by any party, witness or other person who wishes to use it, and HMCTS’s Welsh Language Scheme applies to the Employment Tribunal. The Wales Employment Tribunal has a Welsh language helpline on 0300 303 5176. Correspondence in Welsh is equally acceptable.
Do I need a solicitor for a settlement agreement? You need advice from a relevant independent adviser, and in practice that is almost always a solicitor, though section 203(3A) of the Employment Rights Act 1996 also permits a certified trade union official or advice centre worker.
Who pays for settlement agreement advice? Your employer, in almost every case. A contribution towards your legal fees is a standard term. Where one is offered we cap our fee at that contribution and invoice your employer directly — that is our cost promise.
Is my settlement payment tax free? The first £30,000 of a genuine compensation payment for loss of employment can usually be paid without deduction of tax. Notice pay, contractual entitlements, accrued holiday and bonuses are taxable in the normal way. Our guide explains whether the payment is tax free in more detail.
Settlement agreement fact
A settlement agreement can be a binding contract without legal advice. What fails without advice is the statutory waiver of your employment claims: under section 203(3) of the Employment Rights Act 1996, you cannot validly contract out of your tribunal rights unless you have received advice from a named, insured relevant independent adviser.
Related reading
- What is a settlement agreement? — our main guide
- Is the payment tax free?
- Mutually agreed resignation schemes (MARS) — common across NHS Wales and local government
- What does a settlement agreement solicitor do?
- Acas Code of Practice on Settlement Agreements
- Swansea Civil Justice Centre — GOV.UK court and tribunal finder
Speak to a settlement agreement solicitor
Telephone: 0800 861 1883 Email: john@settlementagreement.co.uk
Send us your agreement and we will call you back the same working day wherever possible.
Legal disclaimer
IMPORTANT: The contents of this page are general guidance only and should not therefore be regarded as constituting legal or other advice or recommendations. You are free to instruct any solicitor you wish.
