Compromise or Settlement Agreements

A recent case of the Workplace Relations Commission demonstrates the implications for an employee in signing a settlement agreement and the inability to pursue any future claims agains their employer.In this case the employee had waived their rights to sue their employer affter signing a compromise agreement with the benefit of union advice. The employee tried to make a number of arguments as to why the agreement was not valid including that they had not been given the opportunity to take legal advice. The Workplace Relations Commission held however that the employee had signed the agreement with ful an informed consent.It is very important that an employer allow an employee the opportunity to take independent legal advice before signing or waiving their rights to ensure the employee fully understands what they are signing and the implications. Here the advice of a union was also sufficient.https://www.workplacerelations.ie/en/cases/2019/december/adj-00021296.html