Senior Employee Settlement Agreement After Workplace Restructure Case

If you have been sidelined after a restructure, criticised in a role that was never properly defined, or pushed towards a difficult exit while your health is suffering, prompt legal advice can make a real difference. In this case, we helped a senior employee move from uncertainty and stress to a negotiated settlement on improved terms, without the time, cost and strain of protracted Employment Tribunal proceedings.

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The Situation Our Client Faced

We acted for a senior manager in a financial services and technology business who had built a strong performance record and had been promoted during his employment. By the time he came to us, he was earning £135,000 plus bonus and had every reason to expect continued progression.

After an internal restructure, however, he was not appointed to the role he had reasonably expected to take on. Another individual was placed into that position instead. At the same time, our client’s own role was reshaped into a newly created post with an unclear remit, overlapping responsibilities and reduced support.

As matters developed, he felt increasingly excluded from important discussions affecting his area of work. Despite the obvious lack of clarity around the role and its objectives, he then faced criticism about performance. The combination of uncertainty, exclusion and pressure had a serious impact on his mental health, leading to work-related stress, anxiety and sickness absence.

Navigate This Case Study:

How We Helped

The Legal and Practical Issues

How We Negotiated

Why This Mattered

How We Helped

This case is a good example of the value of prompt, strategic advice in a workplace exit situation. When a senior employee is left in an unclear role, criticised unfairly or pushed towards the door after a restructure, the right approach is not always to litigate at all costs. Often, the best result comes from combining firm legal analysis with pragmatic negotiation. That is how we helped here. We identified the potential claims, explained the risks honestly, negotiated robustly and supported our client through to a settlement that gave him financial security, an agreed reference and a workable way forward.

The Legal And Practical Issues

We advised our client on the potential legal claims that could arise from the way matters had unfolded, including constructive unfair dismissal and disability discrimination. We also advised on related issues around the employers handling of role changes, performance concerns and the effect the situation was having on his health.

Just as importantly, we gave practical and balanced advice. We pursued his position robustly and set out the substance of his complaints clearly, but we also advised candidly about the realities of litigation. Employment Tribunal claims can be uncertain, slow and demanding. Even where there are arguable claims, proceedings can involve significant delay, legal cost, detailed evidence gathering and considerable personal strain.

In this case, our advice was that a negotiated exit was likely to offer a more commercially sensible route if acceptable terms could be achieved. That approach would allow our client to protect his position, avoid further deterioration in his wellbeing and try to secure a clean break on improved terms.

How We Negotiated

We entered into settlement negotiations on our client's behalf with the aim of securing an exit package that better reflected his notice entitlement, the circumstances of his departure and the value of resolving matters without litigation.

The employer’s initial offer was £34,460. We challenged that position and sought a stronger package, including improved compensation and better overall exit terms. We did not simply focus on headline figures. We also negotiated the structure and wording of the deal, including the protections our client would need once his employment ended.

We were careful throughout to keep our client fully advised on both negotiating strategy and litigation risk. While we pushed for higher compensation and enhanced terms, we also explained where the risks, delay and cost of Tribunal proceedings could affect the value of continuing the dispute. That allowed him to make an informed decision from a position of clarity.

The Outcome We Achieved

Through negotiation, we helped our client secure a final settlement package comprising £33,750 as a payment in lieu of notice, £11,250 tax-free compensation, and a £750 plus VAT contribution towards legal fees. That meant the total direct financial package was £45,000, plus the contribution towards legal fees. We also secured important non-financial terms. These included an agreed reference, confidentiality protections and mutual non-derogatory commitments. Those provisions mattered because they helped our client leave with greater certainty about what could be said after his departure and with a reference he could use in future job searches.

It is important to be accurate about the result. We did not achieve every term originally sought. However, in light of the litigation risks and the surrounding circumstances, we helped our client secure a fair and commercially sensible outcome.

Why This Mattered

For our client, the settlement provided immediate practical benefits. It gave him a defined financial package at a difficult time, a clean exit from an unhealthy working situation and protection against the further stress of drawn-out proceedings. It also meant he could move forward without the uncertainty of an Employment Tribunal claim hanging over him. Instead of facing months of litigation, witness evidence and cross-examination, he was able to resolve matters by agreement and focus on recovery and his next opportunity.

Before accepting the settlement, we advised him on the terms and consequences of the agreement. After receiving that advice, he chose to proceed because settlement was preferable for him to the time, cost and stress of Employment Tribunal proceedings.