Hi and welcome Rachel

In addition to the employee's signature, in order to be valid the SA by law needs to be signed off by an independent authorised adviser, typically a solicitor or TU official who is duty-bound to issue advice and guidance

Hi Rachel,

My experience is that it definitely needs signing off for it to be valid. In the past we've offered a nominal fee for legal advice - I think around £250. Have you offered similar? Perhaps cost is an issue for the employee?

Hi Rachel

Settlement agreements are not legally effective unless the employee has received legal advice about it.

What is your employees reason for refusing legal advice? Have they been offered a suitable amount to get legal advice?

*edit* - i was typing too slow and can see others have already replied! 

As others have rightly said, for a settlement agreement to have full legal value, the employee must have received independent legal advice .Many employers will make a contribution to the cost of this legal advice or even pay for it in full so as to ensure that a legally binding signature is obtained.

A friendly explanation of the legal necessity should help to address the problem with the additional comment that the conditions offered under the SA will not be available if the legal advice is not taken. Why the refusal in the first place?

In reply to Ray:

It is not unusual for people to object/refuse but just requires firm and friendly explanation, to make it valid and protect both parties

Hi Rachel

I have encountered employees who say they just want the money and don’t want any advice. In that case, once they know that the deal will not proceed without this step, and as others have advised it cannot proceed without this step, they go off to a solicitor.

Actually, you could proceed but the agreement would not be worth the paper it was written on and you would effectively be making the deal on a handshake.

Sometimes I have had staff who have not wanted advice because they do not know any solicitors. In that case, I would direct them to the Law Society’s website where there is a Find a Solicitor tool.

In reply to Elizabeth Divver:

I have a list of solicitors in the area and either give them the list (not as a norm but the nervous) or give them a list of three. They usually go for the first one!
I once had to find the only employment solicitor in Dereham as the individual wanted someone very local.

In reply to Peter Stanway:

Anyone duly accredited to sign off settlement agreements won’t be able to do it unless at an absolute minimum they’ve satisfied themselves that the employee understands all the various main consequences of their signing the Agreement, principally that they’re signing-away all rights to claim for their unfair or unlawful dismissal or for unlawful discrimination by their employer, but also other aspects - typically non-disclosure conditions etc.

Provided the employee responds with something like ‘ Yes, I understand all that - just get on with it - I’m entirely happy to sign up to it all’ then that’s all that needs to happen. Whether or not it has amounted to ‘legal advice’ is IMHO open to debate, but at a very basic / limited level I suppose it has. Even though it’s probably only taken a matter of a few minutes. The signer-off nonetheless pockets their standard few hundred £ fee (typically paid directly by the employer) and (usually) everyone’s happy.