Compromise Agreement arranged for client appropriate way forward

17 March 2011

Our client, a female employee, witnessed some inappropriate behaviour by her Managing Director towards other female members of staff at the Company’s Christmas Party. The Managing Director formed the view that our client was seeking to blackmail him with what she saw. The Managing Director instructed his solicitors to draft up a Deed of Confidentiality and it was proposed that our client would leave the business and receive a sum of money in return for keeping matters confidential. This way forward was completely inappropriate. Our client’s position was that her Managing Director had fundamentally breached her contract of employment (which implied terms of trust and confidence). We were able to persuade the Company’s Solicitor of the folly of the proposed way forward. After extensive negotiation terms of severance were agreed between the parties and the parties entered into a Compromise Agreement which in the circumstances was far more appropriate.