-Representation
If you’re interested in representation from Compromise Agreements Ltd, you will either want us to obtain the best possible deal for you from your employer, or just to sign your compromise agreement if the deal is already done. The two services are very different, and are explained below.
In order to get an idea of how much your claim is worth, and also to help us to assess your case, just fill the Compromise Calculator and we will then calculate a figure for your approximate claim value.
Signing
If you are happy with your compromise agreement deal, and just want it signed by a solicitor, we only charge the employer for this service – so you won’t pay a penny. We provide this service wherever you are in the country and within 24 hours. We will also tell you for free whether you have been offered a fair deal or not. So if you think you may just want your compromise agreement signed, no need to read on – just get in touch now.
Negotiation
If you don’t have a compromise agreement offer yet, or if you need help to negotiate to increase your offer amount, then your employer won’t pay for this. The money they provide only covers the cost of a solicitor actually signing the compromise agreement. Its in their best interests that you just sign it without fighting for a higher amount.
But you are obviously one of the more pro active and resourceful individuals who will make sure that they get a fair deal to tide you over in the potentially lean months ahead.
We only take the best cases for negotiation matters, and we will tell you right from the start if you are better off just accepting the money on offer or even walking away with nothing. This is because we specialise in only charging a percentage of the increase which we obtain for you. Clearly this only works in the best cases, and so we have to perform detailed due dilligence on each potential claim.
Due Dilligence
We go through your case details with you and consider relevant documents and correspondence, to help decide the best way forward, including whether we can accept your case. Many negotiations involve a tough legal fight, and can go all the way to tribunal, so it is very important that we assess your case thoroughly to start off with. We don’t charge for this process, and if we accept your negotiation case then we will offer you a percentage deal. To kick start the due dilligence process, just enter your information in the Compromise Calculator.
The Level of any Percentage
Only the best cases qualify for this arrangement, due to the time & expertise involved, and the risk that we could get paid nothing. But if we accept your case then you don’t pay a penny up front and your aims are perfectly aligned with our incentives – to get the best deal as quickly as possible.
The percentages differ depending on the strength of the case, but tend to be around a quarter to a third of any increase obtained, inclusive of all VAT and so on. For the best cases the fee will be much lower. In terms of calculating the percentage, we will take into account a number of factors including but not limited to the following:-
[1] Value of claim;
[2] Strength of evidence;
[3] Complexity of case;
[4] Your expectations; and
[5] Level of any existing offer.
For example, if you have been offered a high offer already and you are unlikely to acheive a large increase because the value of the claim itself is low or the evidence is weak, then the percentage would be higher. If on the other hand there was no existing offer, the claim value was high (see our free Compromise Calculator) and the evidence strong, then a lower percentage would be more appropriate.
No-win no-fee arrangements
Percentage deals differ from ‘no-win no-fee’ because the latter involve an uplift in the lawyers’ hourly rate upon success, for example the lawyers would charge £300 per hour rather than £150 per hour if they win, and nothing if they lose. The problem with ‘no-win no-fee’ arrangements is that they incentivise the lawyer to rack up as many hours as possible in order to make a higher bill. There is no incentive to settle the case quickly and with the minimum of stress.
I have already been offered a compromise agreement, so how would a percentage deal work?
For example, say you’ve been offered £10,000 already, and been told in no uncertain terms
that it’s the final offer. Maybe they’ve even set some kind of arbitrary deadline (this is a favourite HR bully-boy tactic).
Even if they threaten to withdraw the offer, this rarely happens in practice once they’ve
worked out a sum which they are prepared to offer. If we offer you a percentage deal in this scenario, anything which we get you over and above the £10,000, we would charge a percentage of that.
Negotiating compromise agreements yourself
Obviously you are capable of going it alone, but it is likely that you will end up with a smaller ex gratia payment if you do. Just by having Compromise Agreements Ltd conducting the negotiation on your behalf will in itself earn you many thousands of pounds extra, for a number of reasons.
1) we will advise you how to interact with the other side, and take the stress away from you, leaving you free to focus on winning the case;
2) we will work closely with you to get the evidence needed to beat the opposition;
3) the legal strengths of your case will be emphasized correctly;
4) there is a mutual respect which exists amongst lawyers which means that just having representation will help you;
5) if tribunal proceedings need to be issued, we will do that in a legally accurate and forceful way;
Behind-the-scenes negotiation of compromise agreements
Most cases require lawyers to take the fight to the employer tooth and nail, and other cases require a softly-softly approach – so we tailor the approach to suit you. If you don’t want to aggravate
your employer, then our specialists can do everything through you and just tell you what to say.
So you actually send the emails yourself but our experts tell you what to write. This often makes your employer suspect that you have obtained legal advice, and therefore that it is more worth their while paying out a fair amount in order to bring matters to a swift conclusion.
If you’d like to know more, here are a few options:- See the Testimonials page to find out what other clients thought about our services. To find out roughly what your case might be worth, and to start off the due dilligence phase, complete the Compromise Calculator. If you want to send us a message, just fill in the box to the middle-right of your screen. Or discuss matters by calling 0800 533 5134 or 020 7717 5259 or email info@compromiseagree.com.
