Redundancy Solicitor London Advice & Settlement Negotiation
Being made redundant is unsettling, and the terms you are offered are rarely the best terms available. Before you sign anything, it is worth understanding two things: whether the redundancy was handled fairly, and whether the package reflects what you are actually entitled to. Often, it does not.
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BEFORE YOU ACCEPT ANYTHING…
Redundancy Doesn't Always Mean It Was Fair
A genuine redundancy has to meet specific tests. Your employer needs a real business reason, a fair way of selecting who goes, and proper consultation before any decision is made. Where the role still exists, the selection was based on subjective or unfair criteria, or consultation was skipped or rushed, the dismissal may be unfair, whatever your employer chooses to call it.
Some situations carry stronger protection still. Selection influenced by a protected characteristic such as sex, disability, age or race can amount to discrimination, with uncapped compensation. Pregnancy, maternity and whistleblowing carry their own automatic protections that cannot be overridden. And since April 2024, an employee who is pregnant or recently returned from maternity, adoption or shared parental leave has priority over others for any suitable alternative role. That protection runs from the point they tell their employer they are pregnant until 18 months after the birth.
David will spot the process failures your employer may be hoping you miss. And even where the redundancy is entirely genuine, the financial terms are very often negotiable.
35 Years Advising People Through Redundancy and Exit.
David has spent 35 years advising employees and senior executives at exactly this moment, from individual redundancies to large restructures and board-level exits. He has seen the ways employers can keep a package low or dress up a dismissal as redundancy, and he knows where the leverage really sits.
You get a straight answer from the first conversation: whether the redundancy looks fair, what your package should realistically include, and whether it is worth pushing back. Wherever you are based, in London, the South East or further afield, the aim is the same: the strongest outcome with as little stress as the situation allows.
Most people accept the first number they are offered. Very often it is not the best number available, and the only way to know is to have someone look properly before you sign.
The Redundancy Terms Most Often Improved Through Negotiation
Enhanced redundancy pay
Statutory redundancy pay is capped, currently using a weekly pay figure of £751 and a maximum of 20 years' service. Negotiated payments, particularly for mid to senior employees, can go well beyond the statutory minimum.
Full notice pay and garden leave
Making sure you receive your full contractual notice entitlement and, where it suits you, negotiating garden leave so you are paid while free to plan your next move.
Bonus, commission and equity
Payments that fall due during or after the redundancy period, including bonus, commission and share scheme awards, are often left out of the first offer. David makes sure they are accounted for.
An agreed reference
A favourable reference agreed in writing as part of the settlement, protecting your reputation and your next role.
Outplacement and extended benefits
Continued medical cover, career coaching and other non-cash benefits can add real value and are frequently negotiable.
Restrictive covenants relaxed
Negotiating down post-termination restrictions so they do not stand between you and your next position.
Tax-free element handled correctly
Making sure the structure of your package takes full advantage of the £30,000 tax-free treatment for genuine redundancy payments.
Suitable alternative roles explored
Checking whether suitable alternative vacancies exist and should have been offered to you, which matters especially if you have priority status through pregnancy or family leave.
Recent Redundancy Outcomes
Case studies are anonymised. Past outcomes are not a guarantee of future results.
Send David your details for a same-day response.
Tell David what has happened and he will come back to you with a clear view of where you stand. Everything you share is confidential, and there is no obligation to proceed after your first conversation.
No obligation. Your details are used only to respond to your enquiry.
Speak to David directly.
If you have already been given a deadline to sign, a call is the fastest way to get a straight answer.
020 3603 2177- Confidential same-day review of your redundancy and any offer on the table
- Employers usually contribute towards your legal fees for advice on a settlement agreement. David will confirm the position with you before you proceed.
From First Call to Resolution.
Initial call
David reviews your situation, your contract and the terms your employer has offered.
Response within hoursStrategy
David identifies any process failures, your leverage and your options, then agrees a plan with you.
Same dayNegotiation
David corresponds with your employer or their solicitors to improve the package, or challenges an unfair process.
Days to weeksResolution
Independent advice on the final settlement agreement and the adviser's certificate that makes it binding, so you can move on with certainty.
ResolvedWhat clients say about working with David.
I was already happy with the settlement agreement terms I had been offered but only had limited time to accept. David provided a fast turnaround service which enabled me to get same-day advice and sign off.
The invaluable advice I got from David on my settlement agreement helped me feel in control. He negotiated me a far better deal than was offered to me originally.
David held my hand throughout a very messy exit and with his help I left with a large pay out under my settlement agreement to see me through to my next role.
David was great on tactics. He helped me prepare for my redundancy consultation meeting which resulted in me being offered a decent settlement agreement exit package.
Redundancy Questions, Answered
The questions David is asked most often before clients pick up the phone.
View full FAQ →A genuine redundancy payment is tax-free up to £30,000, and employee National Insurance does not apply to that sum either. Anything above £30,000 is taxed in the usual way, and employer National Insurance applies to the excess. It is also worth knowing that some elements people assume are part of their redundancy, such as pay in lieu of notice or accrued holiday, are taxed as normal earnings and do not fall within the £30,000 exemption. How a package is structured can make a real difference to what you keep.
Often, yes. Most people accept the first figure they are offered, and it is frequently not the best figure available. Beyond the headline payment, there is usually room to improve notice and garden leave, bonus, commission or share awards that fall due, an agreed reference, continued benefits, and the relaxation of any post-employment restrictions. The right approach depends on whether the redundancy itself looks fair, which is exactly the kind of thing worth having reviewed before you sign anything.
Yes. A settlement agreement is not legally binding unless you have received independent legal advice on its terms from a qualified adviser, such as a solicitor holding a current practising certificate. In practice the employer usually contributes towards the cost of that advice. David provides this advice regularly and will also tell you whether the deal on the table is a good one, not just sign it off.
Where an employer proposes to make 20 or more people redundant at one establishment within 90 days, it must carry out collective consultation, usually with elected representatives or a recognised union, before any dismissals take effect. There are minimum timescales for that consultation. If an employer fails to consult properly, affected employees can bring a claim for a protective award of up to 90 days’ gross pay each, which is separate from any unfair dismissal claim.
Since 6 April 2024, if you are pregnant or have recently returned from maternity, adoption or shared parental leave and your role is at risk of redundancy, you have priority over other at-risk employees for any suitable alternative vacancy that exists. The protected period runs from the point you tell your employer you are pregnant until 18 months after the expected week of childbirth, the birth, or the date of adoption. If an employer ignores this, the dismissal is likely to be automatically unfair, with no minimum service required, and may also be pregnancy or maternity discrimination, where compensation is uncapped.
Yes, but only if the redundancy is genuine, the selection was fair, and the process was handled properly. Your absence cannot be the reason you were chosen, and selecting someone because of pregnancy, maternity or a disability can be both automatically unfair and discriminatory. If you are on maternity or family leave, the priority for suitable alternative roles also applies. If you have been selected while absent, take advice quickly.
In most cases, three months less one day from the date your employment ended. Before you can go to the tribunal you must notify ACAS and complete Early Conciliation, which pauses the clock while it runs. Tribunals rarely allow late claims, so the safest course is to take advice as soon as you are told your role is at risk, not after you have left.
Do not sign or agree to anything yet. Keep copies of the documents you have been given, including selection criteria, consultation letters and the proposed terms, and make a note of what has happened and when. Then take advice early, while there is still time to influence both the process and the package. David will give you a straight read on whether the redundancy looks fair and what your offer should realistically include.