Quite often employers contact me in respect of how they should deal with an outgoing employee, particularly if it is a member of their management team. So I have put together a short guide to help you deal with an exiting employee:
1. Exit interview: Arrange a meeting with the outgoing employee to ascertain the reason for their departure, sometimes it will have nothing to do with how you run your business but everything to do with salary. Having said that sometimes an employee (as they will have nothing to lose) may provide you with constructive criticism which may help you retain employees in the future (providing you implement their recommendations).
2. Garden leave: you can only place an employee on garden leave if there is a provision for it in their employment contract. A garden leave clause is always a good idea to include in a contract, especially if your employees have access to confidential data or if you think they will attempt to poach and/or solicit your clients or employees.
3. Restrictive Covenants: ensure you remind your employees about restrictive covenants, providing the covenants are reasonable then you should not have a problem enforcing them in the courts.
4. Settlement agreement: if an employee has raised a number of grievances before they resign and there is any risk of a matter being taken to an employment tribunal then you may wish to pay the employee a discretionary payment (which may just be a payment in lieu of notice) in return for a settlement agreement. Ensure you take legal advice from a solicitor, as they will provide you with an assessment as to likely costs of defending any claim and compensation if your employee is successful in a claim.
As always if I can provide you with any further assistance on queries on how to handle an outgoing employee, or you have an existing employee that you are worried about or just need some advice as to how to deal with them, please do not hesitate to contact me at 0113 350 4030 or samira.cakali@scesolicitors.co.uk.
Please note that the information in this blog is to provide information of general interest in a summary manner and should not be construed as individual legal advice. Readers should consult with SCE Solicitors or other professional counsel before acting on the information contained here.
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