In the wake of the announcement that around one third of Vauxhall dealerships are expected to close under plans by its French owners to restructure the entire network, this raises the unwelcome possibility of redundancies amongst its staff.
It is understood that the company will give 2 years notice to all its Opel and Vauxhall dealerships, which number approximately 1,600, of which over 300 are in Britain. The owners will then offer new terms to those dealerships which are both profitable and willing to continue selling Vauxhall cars.
This is likely to result in some Vauxhall dealerships closing leading to the inevitable loss of jobs amongst staff. Those employees with more than 2 years’ service will be entitled to claim redundancy payments. The redundancy payments may be scant consolation as the current statutory redundancy scheme only allows for limited payments to be made. There is the option for employers to pay enhanced redundancy, and those which do this will often require staff to sign a settlement agreement, a legal document which in turn requires the individual to obtain independent legal advice.
Settlement agreements are extremely common, offer a quick resolution and an alternative to embarking upon uncertain and protracted litigation in an employment tribunal.
Another advantage of individuals signing a settlement agreement is that invariably, the employer will pay legal fees directly to their solicitor. It is certainly wise to search for a recommended solicitor who has experience handling redundancies.
At Winston Solicitors, we handled over 400 settlement agreements in 2017 and have extensive experience of dealing with these cases across a wide range of industries and acting for employees at all levels within a business.
If you have been offered a redundancy and need independent legal advice from an employment solicitor regarding a settlement agreement, speak to Paul Grindley on 0113 320 5000 or email paulg@winstonsolicitors.co.uk
Work out how much your settlement agreement could be with this settlement agreement calculator.
