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If you have come to an amicable exit agreement with your employer, you may wonder why you are required to take independent legal advice on the Settlement Agreement. 

The simple answer is yes, in theory, you can. However, each case will depend on the specific circumstances including the reasons for the employee refusing to have the vaccination and the nature of the employer’s business. There has been a recent decision in the Employment Tribunal involving a care home employee who refused to have the vaccination and was subsequently dismissed by the Nursing Home. This care worker was scared of the vaccine, she said she didn’t trust that it was safe. However, the care home suffered from an outbreak of the virus and 33 staff and 22 residents were infected. Sadly, there were also a number of deaths. The Care Home required all of its staff to be vaccinated in December 2020 / January 2021. At that time, there was no legal requirement for care home workers to have the vaccination.

Azeem Rafiq, a former cricketer at Yorkshire County Cricket Club has lifted the lid on what he, and others, view as institutional racism at the Club. Azeem was a rising star in the cricket world, at 21 he was made Captain of the Team. He was the first British Asian to be appointed to the role. However, by the age of 29 he had retired from professional cricket.  

A Settlement Agreement is usually offered to you by your employer as a means of you agreeing to leave your employment and setting out the terms of your departure. Settlement Agreements are often offered by employers to employees if there is a redundancy situation. Employers also sometimes offer a settlement agreement as a means of resolving an employment dispute and will usually offer this under a ‘Protected Conversation’ or on a ‘Without Prejudice’ basis (please refer to our free glossary on our website for an explanation as to what these mean). 

The Presidents of the Employment Tribunals in England and Wales and in Scotland have issued an update to the guidance on employment tribunal awards for injury to feelings.

Any communication (written or oral) between a solicitor or a barrister and their client is covered by the concept of legal professional privilege, but what does this mean in practice ?