Waterfront Law successfully concludes difficult employee exit for global employer

Recently our Head of Employment, Anthony Purvis, was called on by a multi-national software business to resolve a dispute with an employee.

It had started as a relatively straightforward redundancy process.  The company wanted to cut costs, so it proposed the removal of one of its senior roles in the UK.  The individual was put at risk of redundancy and a consultation process was planned.  In addition, the company had decided to offer a generous enhanced redundancy package and, as standard, the employee was required to take independent legal advice on its terms.

Unexpectedly for the employer, the individual – through his lawyer – decided to negotiate from a very aggressive position.  Serious allegations of unfairness and unlawful discrimination were made and a counter-offer was put forward, which was several times higher than the redundancy package offered.

At that point, we were asked by the client’s HR team and management to help.  We advised the client on its position and its options before responding robustly to the other party’s lawyer, by arguing on multiple grounds why the claims were misconceived and over-valued.

The negotiation was hard-fought but we managed to:

• Use our experience to put our client in the best position and to anticipate both the other side’s arguments and the likely outcomes if an agreement was not reached.
• Reach an agreement quickly so that our client could get back to focussing on its business and avoid a lengthy and disruptive dispute.
• Agree an exit package which was only slightly higher than our client’s original offer and a fraction of the six-figure sum sought by the employee. In these cases, there can be the real risk of the employer being coerced into paying too much, unless specialist guidance is sought.
• Limit our charges to the client, because of the prompt resolution. Our client was updated regularly on our fees and the projected costs associated with the different outcomes, so that it could make informed commercial decisions throughout the negotiation.

At the end of the matter, we were pleased to have a happy client.  If you find yourself in a similar situation – either as the employer or employee – our team are available for a free no-obligation chat to see how we can help.

Some of the details of the matter have been changed in order to prevent identification of the parties involved.