Duane Morris Institute: Protected Conversations – Salvation in the Face of Difficult UK Dismissals?

Thursday May 4, 2023
2:00 – 3:00 pm (Webinar)

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• Under UK employment legislation there are several ways in which a difficult employment situation can create a risky departure scenario.
• Whether the employee is choosing to leave of their own volition -but is clearly angry or upset, and therefore potentially litigious, or whether the employer is having to dismiss the employee but has concerns about litigation – either way the risk factor can be high with $100K damages the norm.
• All UK employees with 24 months’ employment service are protected against dismissal at will.
• A protected conversation is an “off the record” privileged conversation between an employer and employee by which an employer can initiate privileged pre-termination negotiations with an employee to explore the possibility of a consensual exit settlement agreement.
• Protected conversations can be a swift and effective way to allow the parties an option to explore a consensual exit in a difficult employment situation, without a litigation risk or without invalidating a subsequent formal dismissal process.

Nic Hart Managing Partner of our London Office and Employment team is providing a training session on how and when to have a protected conversation, the risks that arise, the formalities required, and the use of settlement agreements.