No, there are no legal requirements or obligations on your employer to provide you with a reference. You can however ask for one to be included as a part of your settlement agreement together with the exact wording to be used.
A large part of settlement agreements are in place to keep sensitive information confidential. Most settlement agreements will therefore contain a restriction on you and your employer keeping the existence, terms and background of the settlement agreement confidential. There will usually also be a restriction to prevent you making disparaging remarks about your employer (in the widest sense) once you leave, most clients will want a similar obligation to apply to their former employer.
£30,000 of any payout received as part of your settlement (including any statutory redundancy pay) can usually be paid tax-free. If you receive more than this, it will be subject to usual deductions unless you are making a payment into your pension or the payment represents compensation for injury to your feelings in relation to discrimination.
Since you will have waived your rights as an employee under the terms of the settlement, it is essential that payment of any bonus is included as an express term of that agreement.
If you are a senior executive and need advice and sign off on your settlement agreement or if you need help in negotiating the terms of a settlement agreement or if you need tactical advice on how to secure an offer of exit terms please call David for an initial discussion on 020 3603 2177 or Click here to make a free online enquiry.
